Agency condemns Sweden's GMO labeling as 'misleading'
Swedish consumers are being misled by labels falsely claiming that food products are free of genetically modified organisms (GMO), according to a new report.
Sweden’s National Food Administration (Livsmedelsverket) recently tested the contents of 29 different products in six municipalities around the country.
The samples all contained soy rice, or corn and were taken from a mixture of 15 grocery stores and wholesalers.
Ten products had labels proclaiming they were GMO-free, yet four of them were found to have traces of GMOs.
“The increase in ‘GMO Free’ labeling is misleading. It’s extremely hard to hold a product completely free from GMOs throughout the production chain,” said Food Administration inspector Zofia Kurowska to the TT news agency.
According to Swedish and European law, products with more than 0.9 percent of a GMO must be labeled as containing GMOs, writes the Sydsvenskan newspaper.
In one of the products, a baking mix, had contents with higher than 0.9 percent GMO but lacked a label to that effect.
Another study also found that small companies have a lack of knowledge about GMOs and often lack documentation procedures.
A survey carried out back in 2007 should that grocers had sloppy procedures for checking whether or not products contained GMOs.
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Sweden’s National Food Administration (Livsmedelsverket) recently tested the contents of 29 different products in six municipalities around the country.
The samples all contained soy rice, or corn and were taken from a mixture of 15 grocery stores and wholesalers.
Ten products had labels proclaiming they were GMO-free, yet four of them were found to have traces of GMOs.
“The increase in ‘GMO Free’ labeling is misleading. It’s extremely hard to hold a product completely free from GMOs throughout the production chain,” said Food Administration inspector Zofia Kurowska to the TT news agency.
According to Swedish and European law, products with more than 0.9 percent of a GMO must be labeled as containing GMOs, writes the Sydsvenskan newspaper.
In one of the products, a baking mix, had contents with higher than 0.9 percent GMO but lacked a label to that effect.
Another study also found that small companies have a lack of knowledge about GMOs and often lack documentation procedures.
A survey carried out back in 2007 should that grocers had sloppy procedures for checking whether or not products contained GMOs.
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