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At the second reading vote (with 42 votes in favor, 2 against and 3 abstentions) on the amendments to the Council’s position on the Regulation on Novel Foods that took place on the 4th of May 2010, the Environment Committee MEPs reaffirmed their determination to ensure that certain safety and labeling requirements are in place for authorizing food produced with the aid of nanotechnologies.
MEPs decided that foods produced by nanotechnologies’ processes must remain excluded from the Community list until they have undergone specific and adequate risk assessments, and the possible health effects of materials at nano scale are better understood. The draft legislation defines engineered nano-materials as having one or more dimensions less than 100 nm. All ingredients present in the form of nano-materials will need to be clearly indicated in the list of ingredients.
The amendments adopted by the Committee reiterate the position reached by the Parliament at first reading in March 2009.
These amendments are most welcomed by MIO-ECSDE who calls for the adoption of the precautionary approach before producing and introducing nano-materials in the market for consumer use and the adequate labeling of all consumer items already available on the market and containing nanoparticles allowing their easy identification. (read more at MIO-ECSDE’s Position Paper on Nanotechnologies).
Earlier this week, in view of the second reading vote on the Regulation on Novel Foods, a letter was sent jointly on behalf of MIO-ECSDE and EEB calling for the protection of consumers’ health and the environment by supporting the amendments 13, 73 (“The precautionary principle must be applied to nano in food and food packaging”) and 81 (“All nano ingredients must be clearly indicated to consumers through a mandatory labelling of products”). Read more on the link below.
The plenary vote is currently scheduled for July and the regulation will be adopted after co-decision, where both the European Parliament and Members States must agree on a final text.
Read more at the following links:
NGO recommendations on nanomaterials in food in view of the ENVI vote on 4 May 2010 on Regulation on Novel foods
European Parliament’s Press Release
For more information contact Ms. Thomie Vlachogianni: vlachogianni@mio-ecsde.org