GM food labels `will con public'

A COMPULSORY labelling scheme for genetically modified food being introduced tomorrow will not give consumers the information they need, it was claimed yesterday.

Friends of the Earth campaigners said the regulations being implemented across Europe would con the public because they allow too many exemptions.

The British government acclaimed the new rules a victory for the consumer. But Adrian Bebb, food campaigner at FoE, said yesterday that the majority of products containing genetically modified ingredients would not be labelled.

The exemptions include any foods that contain soya oil or other soya derivatives such as lecithin, even though they may have come from genetically engineered soya beans. More than 60 per cent of processed foods, including bread and baby food, contain soya, Mr Bebb said.