6-Regulation: Sri Lanka's GM food ban delayed indefinitely

[GENET <genetnl@xs4all.be>]

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TITLE:  Sri Lanka's GM food ban delayed indefinitely
SOURCE: Times of India, by Reuters
        http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=869444898
DATE:   September 3, 2001

------------------ archive: http://www.gene.ch/genet.html ------------------


Sri Lanka's GM food ban delayed indefinitely

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has postponed indefinitely plans to impose one of the 
world's toughest bans on genetically modified (GM) food, a senior health 
ministry official said on Monday. The ban, which drew criticism from the 
United States and was delayed for three months at the request of the World 
Trade Organisation (WTO), had been due to go into effect on September 1. 
"The secretary of the Health Ministry has issued a circular ordering that 
the regulations do not go into force until further notice," said the senior 
official, who did not want to be identified.

The ban had been recommended by a government committee which said Sri Lanka 
needed time to study health risks associated with the new technology. 
Proponents of GM products say they contribute to higher crop yields and 
lower production costs, while critics fear long-term health and 
environmental consequences. A ban went into force on May 1 but was later 
delayed until September 1 after criticism from Washington, which said there 
was "no credible scientific evidence" to justify it. The WTO had also asked 
Sri Lanka to give its trading partners 60 days to prepare for the 
restrictions.

The ban required 21 categories of food imports to be completely free of GM 
products which contain a gene from another organism, generally to make them 
resistant to herbicides or to produce their own toxins to kill pests. "We 
don't know whether it will ever see the light of day," the official said.

The ban had also drawn fire from local business groups which asked the 
government to wait until 2003 when the United Nations Codex Alimentarius 
Commission is due to announce an international standards regime for GM 
foods. Health Ministry officials said the ban had not been expected to 
seriously hamper Sri Lankan trade except in processed foods. Sri Lanka is a 
significant importer of wheat and sugar.



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