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European retailers call for freedom of choice

Posted 30th September 2024 in News

Hundreds of European retailers and food producers petitioned the EU Council in September calling for new GMOs to be labelled. The 376 companies included the third largest food retailer in the EU, REWE Group; the leading retailer in Austria, SPAR Austria; Europe’s largest drugstore chain, dm-drogerie markt and the world’s largest organic supermarket chain, Biocoop.

“Across Europe, companies see their entrepreneurial freedom threatened by the EU Commission’s plans to deregulate so-called new genomic techniques (NGTs) or new GMOs,” according to the German Association Food without Genetic Engineering (VLOG). “They are therefore appealing to the EU Agriculture Council to stand up for transparency, freedom of choice and fair competitive conditions along the entire value chain.”

Hungary’s Minister of Agriculture and current EU Council President for Agriculture and Fisheries, Dr István Nagy (r), accepts the Open Letter from Gunther Weiss (l), Head of Quality Management, Alnatura GmbH. Photo: Csaba Pelsőczy.

The demands included labelling, traceability, coexistence and liability rules, whilst the concerns of the signatories included the potential loss of export markets and the threat to the existence of non-GMO production systems.

As 2025 approaches, plans to deregulate NGTs in Europe are blocked at the European Council, with the issue of patents reportedly thus far unresolved. Alexander Hissting, Managing Director of VLOG, told Feed Navigator that this could change in 2025 when Poland assumes the Council’s presidency. Poland has until now been a blocking country due to its opposition of patents. Its position will be critical, according to Hissting.