The British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, has intervened personally in the row over genetically modified (GM) food, amid concern among MPs and consumer groups about the regulation and labelling of the food product.
As the former minister, Ms Joan Ruddock, called for a "moratorium" on genetically modified foods, a spokesman for the Prime Minister said Mr Blair was "very strongly of the view that this product is safe. He has no hesitation at all about saying that."
The government is keen to avoid the publicity debacle which plagued the Conservatives during the BSE crisis, but Downing Street insisted Mr Blair was "frustrated" by the level of debate on genetically modified food. "He is concerned that there should be no headlong rush into something which is completely unnecessary because there is absolutely no scientific evidence to suggest there is anything harmful about the food that is being produced at the moment," the spokesman added.
Mr Blair's decision to defend the use of genetically modified food and the revelation that GM foods are on the menu at No 10 comes as members of the biotech industry prepare to respond today to the government's proposal that the industry should regulate itself. Further plans to establish a "stakeholders' forum", including the biotechnology industry and farmers, to advise the government on the research and processing of new food products were announced yesterday.
Launching their own campaign to force all supermarkets to label products containing genetically modified ingredients, the Conservatives warned the government not to blame the EU for any delays in introducing legislation to compel companies to label GM ingredients in food.
A spokeswoman for the Consumers Association said all products derived from genetic modification should be labelled.
Disquiet over GM food has seen the Environment Minister, Mr Michael Meacher, raise the prospect of an ethics commission to consider the use of GM products, while Dr Jack Cunningham, who heads the cabinet committee on biotechnology, has flatly rejected calls for a ban on GM food or a moratorium on GM crops. The government supports the implementation of labelling laws not only in supermarkets but in restaurants and among caterers, but regulation is not due to come into force until next month.
The government's assurance that only three GM products were on sale in the UK was rejected by the campaign group Genewatch, which said up to 12 other GM enzymes were being sold in products ranging from tomato puree to some types of maize and soya.