Food Crop Importers will need to declare non-GMO Status : FSSAI

The Food Safety and Standards Authority published the notification stated that the imported consignments of some of the major food crops will require to be accompanied by the “non-GM cum GM-free certificate from March 1. In this article, we will discuss the Food crop Importers will need to declare non-GMO Status.

Food Crop Importers will need to declare non-GMO Status

The Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) on Monday stated that from March 1, imported consignments of some of the major food crops will require to be completed with the “non-GM cum GM-free certificate”. The regulator simplified that the requirement of this declaration will only be applicable on consignments, which are dispatched from exporting countries, on or after March 1.

Through this certification, exporters will require to declare that the imported food crops are of non-GM origin. Also, the exporters will require to declare that the imported food crops are of non-GM origin, does not contain genetically modified organism and is also not genetically modified.

Further Clarification by FSSAI

The food safety authority also declared that the tolerance limit for “adventitious presence” of GMOs at one per cent will be admissible in these imported food crops consignments. The term adventitious presence relates to the unintentional or incidental presence of trace amounts of GM material in non-GM crops. Further, many countries have set thresholds for labelling of “adventitious presence” of approved GM material in non-GM crops, which ranges from 0.9-5 per cent.

In a bid to ensure that only non-GM food crops come into the country, FSSAI in August last year had first directed these standards for importers of 24 food crops such as apple, eggplant, maize, wheat, melon, pineapple, papaya, plum, potato, rice, soyabean, sugarcane, tomato among others. It had earlier said these norms will become valid January 1. However, an extension of two months was provided to importers and the norms will come into force from March.