Labelling is an important way of informing consumers about which foods and ingredients have been genetically modified. Consumers have the right to know whether the product they are purchasing is genetically engineered or contains ingredients from GM organisms.

However, many complex issues are involved and it takes considerable time to develop meaningful and enforceable legal rules. It is essential that these rules be agreed at EU level. Current regulations do not require food labels to indicate if a food has been derived from animals fed on GM feed. However, in view of consumer concerns, some manufacturers and retailers have begun to provide this information voluntarily on food labels.

In spite of this situation, some progress has been made and initial rules are in place. The EU Regulation, which governs the labelling of GM soya and GM maize, establishes the principle that foods which contain any modified protein or modified DNA from the GM soya or maize crops must be labelled. These provisions are likely to be applied to any other GM ingredients approved by the EU in the future.