European Parliament: honey, any GM pollen would not need to be labelled

Following a MEPs’ call, it will be impossible to know whether the honey we are buying contains GMOs or not

Coldiretti (Federation of Italian Farmers): “It’s an alarming approach” given the boom in imports from China

In the near future, the possibility of knowing whether the honey we bought and consume contains GM pollen could become unattainable. The European Parliament made another step in this direction today, adopting (by 430 votes to 224, with 19 abstentions) in plenary session a report by Julie Girling, (ECR, UK). According to the report, pollen has no longer to be considered as “ingredient” of honey: it is a “constituent”. This is a significant distinction, given that it implies different rules in labelling.

When pollen is considered as “ingredient” (as it is nowadays), GM pollen has to be labelled if it makes up more than 0.9% of the pollen contained in the honey batch. On the other hand, when pollen is considered as “constituent”, GM pollen has to be labelled if it makes up more than 0.9% of the honey as a whole (not of the pollen in it). Essentially, the possibility of labelling the presence of GM pollen becomes impossible: “According to the GM regulation,” explained Ms. Girling, “only GM content above 0.9 % needs to be labelled. Since pollen only forms around 0.5 % of any batch of honey, it would never exceed the labelling threshold.”

The Parliament has hence rejected a proposal made by the Environment Committee – which had previously rejected the Girling report – to continue considering GM pollen as an ingredient rather than a natural constituent, following Court of Justice ruling in September 2011. Ms. Girling, the rapporteur, received a mandate from the plenary session to start negotiations with the Greek Presidency of the Council, with a view to reaching agreement at first reading.

The decision taken today by the MEPs implies as well several consequences for Member States, such as Italy, where GMOs cultivations are not allowed. The boom in imports from countries at risk, says Coldiretti (Federation of Italian Farmers) is a huge threat: China, for instance, has recorded a 29% increase in shipments to Italy in 2013. The European Parliament approach is “alarming”, warns Coldiretti, taking into consideration that GMOs cultivations can contaminate honey even through pollen transfer by bees.

“With EU countries importing honey from GM-producing countries and two of the main EU honey-producing member states (Spain and Romania) having authorized the production of this GM maize, honey contaminated with GM pollen will increasingly be available on our shop shelves,” says Bart Staes, spokesman of the Greens. The vote, he says, “is a slap in the face to European consumers and beekeepers, who have again and again spoken out in favor of transparent labelling rules.” He adds, “A majority of MEPs was swayed by an intense lobbying campaign, led by honey importers.”

Fabrizio Bertot, PPE, does not agree: “Different rules” he says, “would not have guaranteed any advantage in defending native pollen, given that it could be transferred even for kilometers by currents. In addition, it would have meant higher sampling and labelling costs for Italian honey producers,” he added.

Letizia Pascale