Thailand to Require GMO Declarations on Food Labels

The Thai government has announced it will now require food firms to declare any use of genetically modified (GM) ingredients on food labels.  The new food labeling regulations are expected to come into effect starting October this year.
Previously, Thailand did not have specific regulations governing labeling of genetically modified ingredients on food product packages.  However, the Thai Ministry of Public Health recently announced that all food manufacturers handling GM products must now declare their use of these on their labels.  In addition, Thailand has now banned companies from declaring that their food products do not contain GM. Food companies also are not allowed to use the phrase ‘GMO-free food’, ‘non-modified food’, ‘does not contain components of genetically modified food’, ‘GMO ingredients have been excluded’, or other similar texts or symbols.
The agency, however, made some exception to these regulations temporarily for companies that can provide traceability evidence from a traceability system that can prove that no GM ingredients are used in production; small producers that sell directly to consumers; food products that can prove use of GM organisms had not left any GM proteins or remaining GM components in the final product; and the use of GM proteins solely as an aid for manufacturing.