Legislation

Traceability and labelling

Basic legislation

Basic Legislation

Regulation (EC) No 1830/2003 )of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2003 concerning the traceability and labelling of genetically modified organisms and the traceability of food and feed products produced from genetically modified organisms and amending Directive 2001/18/EC.

The EU has established a harmonised framework for traceability and labelling of GMOs to enable consumers and operators to make informed choices. At each stage of marketing, operators must transmit and hold information that products contain or consist of GMOs, as well as the unique identifiers for those GMOs. These identifiers may be used to access specific information on GMOs from a register, and to facilitate their identification, detection and monitoring. These traceability requirements should facilitate the withdrawal of GM products from the market in the case of unforeseen effects on human health, animal health or the environment. Traceability should also facilitate the implementation of risk management measures in accordance with the precautionary principle.

GMOs which are present in food, feed and products intended for direct processing at a level below 0.9% are  exempted from the traceability and labelling requirement.