Non-GM successes
Non-GM works
GM honey needs a GM label
The EU Court of Justice says GM pollen in honey needs full food safety approval, beekeepers pay for MON810
12 Feb 2013
Commission Amending Honey Law to Hide GM Pollen
In September 2012 the European Commission proposed an amendment to the Honey Directive reclassifying pollen as a “constituent” of honey, not an ingredient, which has a considerable impact on labelling. Under GM rules each GM ingredient in a product must be listed on the label. Under the Commission’s proposed changes to the Honey Directive GM pollen would still have to be authorised as food before it could be sold, but GM pollen would have to make up more than 0.9% of the total weight of the honey itself before it would have to be labelled – a circumstance that is unlikely ever to arise as total pollen weight in honey is normally around 0.1%.
For further background see our press release of 11 February 2013.
As this proposal begins to make its way toward a vote, we need to press the UK Government to reject it and to ensure the European Court of Justice ruling is respected. Please write to Secretary of State Owen Paterson today.
**Thanks to those who got in touch to say the email address we were using (secretary.state@defra.gsi.gov.uk) is full and bouncing back. We've now changed the address in this action and hope that helps your comments find their way to Mr Paterson.**
What you can do
Please write to Secretary of State Owen Paterson asking him to ensure the UK votes against the Commission's proposal to amend the EU Honey Directive.
You can email the Secretary of State using the form below or write to:
Rt Hon Owen Paterson MP
Secretary of State
Defra
Nobel House
17 Smith Square
London
SW1P 3JR
Points to include:
- I am very concerned about the spread of GM pollen, including into our food supply.
- I do not agree with the Commission's proposed amendment of the Honey Directive as I believe it will mask GM contamination from me as a consumer if I want to buy honey.
- I strongly urge you to ensure the UK votes against this proposal.
- I also strongly urge you to ensure the ruling of the European Court of Justice is fully enforced. I'm sure as a keen and vocal advocate of better food labelling and full consumer information you will help ensure honey with GM pollen in it complies with all appropriate GM labelling laws, as the Court ruled it should.
Send your email now
Your email will be sent to defra.helpline@defra.gsi.gov.uk as soon as you press send.
Background to this action
In September 2011 the European Union Court of Justice (ECJ) issued a landmark ruling that honey contaminated with GM pollen must go through full GM food authorisation and carry a GM label before it can be marketed in the EU. This applies even if the pollen is non-viable and no longer able to fertilise flowers.
The case was brought by Bavarian beekeeper Karl Heinze Bablok after his honey was contaminated by a field trial of GM Mon810 maize on land owned by the Bavarian state. Mr Bablok’s bees collected the GM maize pollen for food (maize is only wind pollinated; insects play no role in maize fertilisation).
The judgment means that GM companies must have GM crop marketing licenses that cover sale of honey as food (under Directive 2001/18 and Regulation 1829/2003). The European Commission had previously refused to accept that honey contaminated with GM pollen should carry GM labels, saying the pollen was unintentionally present, was not an ingredient of the final product and was only present in small amounts. EU Health Commissioner Dalli has now confirmed Monsanto must reapply to acquire full authorisation for GM pollen to be in honey.
You can watch a short video about this issue, including an interview with Commissioner Dalli, here. (This link takes you to the EuroNews website.)
Beekeepers, already hard hit by a variety of bee diseases and disorders, are concerned they will now bear the costs of expensive GM testing and labelling, and that many will lose markets as honey is viewed as a healthy product and their customers will not buy if GM-labelled products.
Commissioner Dali has also said “adequate separation distances” are the key for beekeepers and honey production. As honey bees are known to fly long distances to collect pollen, meaningful coexistence based separation distances would seem to be impossible. Governments will ultimately have to choose between pollination services and honey sales or GM crops.
All previous updates
29 Aug 2012
One year later, still no progress
It's now a year since the ECJ ruling on GM pollen in honey. We are unaware of any concrete progress on introducing rules and regs implementing the ruling, and beekeepers in the EU and around the world now struggle to understand how they can sell their honey in the EU, nevermind protect themselves from GM contamination.
Please send our updated letter to Commission Dalli. Thank you.
10 Feb 2013
Previous actions
Previously we were asking people to write to Commissioner Dalli (no long in post) asking:
- One year after the European Court of Justice ruled that GM honey needs a GM label, I am very concerned that beekeepers in the EU and around the world are struggling, but progress on establishing how they can sell their products has yet to emerge.
- What does the Commission consider an “adequate” separation distance to be between a beehive and a GM crop given:
- Honey bees are known to travel long distances (up to 9.5 kilometres) in search of pollen (see Protecting Bees, Beekeepers and Honey from Contamination in Wales at www.gmfreeze.org), and
- Researchers in Japan have demonstrated that maize can cross-fertilise at distances of at least 1200 metres.
- When does the Commission expect to be able to implement the ECJ ruling?
12 Feb 2013
Commission Amending Honey Law to Hide GM Pollen
In September 2012 the European Commission proposed an amendment to the Honey Directive reclassifying pollen as a “constituent” of honey, not an ingredient, which has a considerable impact on labelling. Under GM rules each GM ingredient in a product must be listed on the label. Under the Commission’s proposed changes to the Honey Directive GM pollen would still have to be authorised as food before it could be sold, but GM pollen would have to make up more than 0.9% of the total weight of the honey itself before it would have to be labelled – a circumstance that is unlikely ever to arise as total pollen weight in honey is normally around 0.1%.
For further background see our press release of 11 February 2013.
As this proposal begins to make its way toward a vote, we need to press the UK Government to reject it and to ensure the European Court of Justice ruling is respected. Please write to Secretary of State Owen Paterson today.
**Thanks to those who got in touch to say the email address we were using (secretary.state@defra.gsi.gov.uk) is full and bouncing back. We've now changed the address in this action and hope that helps your comments find their way to Mr Paterson.**