Each EU member-state will have to draw up its own conditions on the application of EU law on GM foods, the Irish Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, Mr David Byrne, has said.
He was speaking at a weekend conference in Kinsale, days after a poll in Britain strongly rejected GM foods.
The British public voted by nine to one against the introduction of GM foods.
Mr Byrne said: "EU law now provides that GM foods are legal as long as they comply with the laws of the state."
He added that the EU is still focusing on conditions where GM crops can co-exist with organic crops without the danger of cross-pollination.
The Commissioner was the keynote speaker at the conference "Green Business is Real Business", organised by the West Cork Leader Co-op.
He said the GM issue was a very controversial one and he expected that it might be solved in the next few months or even weeks.
Chef Darina Allen questioned how possible health risks from GM foods could be detected since unlabelled GM foods had been on the shelves for many years.
"If we get a lump, or a bump or a tumour there is no one who can prove it came from the consumption of GM foods because they were unlabelled," she said.
The Commissioner replied that each GM product would be subjected to rigorous scientific testing before being sanctioned to go on shop shelves.
Mr Byrne said he did not think GM foods would ever be embraced by the public until they saw a clear benefit from these foods to themselves.
The conference was also organised in conjunction with Clean Technology Ireland and Advanced Manufacturing Technology at UCC.