The food safety bill should provide for a "hazards committee" specifically charged with reporting on health aspects associated with consumption of genetically engineered foods, according to Mr Joe Higgins TD of the Socialist Party.
Mr Higgins will move an amendment in the Dail today to the Food Safety Authority Bill (1998) seeking the establishment of a watchdog for genetically modified (GM) foods.
His proposals call for the establishment of a 10-person body, a Genetically Engineered Foods Hazards Committee, within the Food Safety Authority. At least three members of this group would have a record of opposition to GM foods, he said.
Mr Higgins also wants amendments on labelling so that all modified foods would be clearly marked as such. Amendments to the Bill would also include heavy penalties with fines up to £20,000 for those attempting to avoid labelling requirements.
Mr Higgins highlighted a pre-election statement made in April 1997 by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, in which he said Fianna Fail would not support "the largest nutritional experiment in human history with the consumer as guinea pig".
The Government should accept this amendment, he said in a statement yesterday. There were "deep and well-grounded fears concerning the possible effects of the release" of genetically modified organisms into the environment.
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