Johannesburg, 04 Feb 2009
Following a ruling by the Department of Trade and Industry, mandatory labelling on the packaging of genetically modified (GM) foods has been reinstated in the Consumer Protection Bill, as yet to be passed through Parliament. The clause was removed from the original Bill in 2007.
“When the Bill is promulgated, food manufacturers using genetically modified organisms (GMOs) will by law have to code and label their products accordingly,” says Trevor James, managing director of Marking Solutions, a company in the JSE-listed Square One Solutions Group.
“Modern consumers are by and large aware of their individual and legislative rights,” adds James. “They have become accustomed to packaging that not only provides best before dates and batch identification on foods and beverages that enables products to be tracked from the manufacturing plant to the consumer and back again, but also a full breakdown of product ingredients.
“In today's environment, consumers are bombarded with food and drink health campaigns and they're not only becoming more selective, but actively seek information about the food or drink and its contents in terms of fats, sugars/sweeteners, salt, fibre and additives. Genetic modification has also become an issue.”
Until the Bill is passed and becomes law, manufacturers might be morally obliged to declare genetic modification, but not legally. Few, if any, genetically modified foods are labelled as such.
James says there has also been opposition to the Bill from agriculture and health, countered by consumer rights and safety organisations so the Bill remains a live issue, and there is no firm indication of when it will be signed into law.
“Food and beverage manufacturers of products that are genetically modified will have to prepare and plan for the installation of automatic coding solutions into their product production and packaging lines in advance of the legislation becoming effective.
“Yet other manufacturers may want to consider prominently printing phrases such as 'Free of genetic modification/manipulation' on the product packet, box, tin or bottle.”
The coding and marking industry generally has embraced the development of new technology and offers industrial printing solutions in-line directly on product containers, labels and bulk cartons using both ink-jet and laser, depending on speed, volume and print surface.
Marking Solutions is now the distributor for 10 international marking solution product manufacturers, including Metronic, Solaris, Leibinger, Richtor, Saturn, Macoder and Rottweiler. The business focus is on the best application of coding and marking technology, not about the technology itself. As a supplier of coding solutions to South African companies for more than 18 years, James says Marking Solutions has the knowledge and experience to provide systems and solutions best suited to each and every application.
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