Council ban on modified meals

THE GOVERNMENT'S policy on genetically modified foods suffered a setback yesterday when it emerged that more than 250 councils had banned the products indefinitely from school meals.

The move, which was announced by the Local Government Association, means that nearly all schools and old people's homes in England and Wales will serve GM-free meals by the end of this year. The LGA revealed at a conference on the technology that more than half of the country's 410 town halls had already imposed a moratorium on the modified ingredients.

As councils spend more than pounds 10bn a year on food and represent the biggest consumer market in the UK, their decision is one of the most severe blows to the biotechnology industry. The LGA has urged its members to impose a five-year ban on GM products in schools, care homes and meals-on- wheels services to allow for research to clear up the question of their safety.

Many of the 250 councils are Labour run and their decision is sure to embarrass ministers who have been desperately trying to take a "neutral" stance on the issue. Among the issues of concern to schools and councils were the lack of labelling on GM products, the long-term health effects, the development of antibiotic resistance in gut bacteria and the lack of perceived benefits to consumers.

One senior LGA insider said that the main reason for the bans had been fears that GM foods could affect the most vulnerable in society, the old and the young, and they had a duty to protect them.

Ian Foulkes, head of environmental services at the LGA, said: "The vast majority of authorities have a definite view about GM food and most have decided to either ban, or begin the process of stopping the use of, GM food."