Food Safety Focus (133^rd Issue, August 2017 ) – Food Incident Highlight

Safety of Genetically Modified Food (GMF)

GMF is any food that is, or is derived from, an organism in which the genetic material has been modified using modern biotechnology. Locally, there have been some concerns on the safety of GMF. According to the World Health Organization, GMF currently available for sale in the international market has passed safety assessments of the food safety regulatory bodies of the relevant countries or places and is not likely to present risk for human health.

The Centre for Food Safety has been monitoring the safety of food (including GMF) through the Food Surveillance Programme. The Government is considering the introduction of a mandatory pre-market safety assessment scheme, with a view to launching a public consultation on the proposed scheme in due course. The proposed scheme aims to provide a further safeguard to enhance the food safety control over GMF and to provide the legal basis for preventing unauthorised GMF from entering into the local market.