Qatar plans law on GM products
Doha , March 13, 2008
Qatar is giving final touches to a law to check the entry of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) into the country.
The country is also making labelling of GMOs products mandatory giving consumers the right to pick their choice of GMO or non-GMO products, reported the Qatar Peninsula.
This means the law will allow people to enjoy the benefits of biotechnology while avoiding its possible risks.
Wildlife Conservation Director Ghanem Mohammed Al Abdullah said the next meeting of the National Committee on biosafety will discuss the details of introducing a labelling system of GMOs in Qatar.
Ahead of the meeting, the committee will also host a workshop that will be addressed by international experts in the field, he added.
Al Abdullah said the proposed biosafety law was prepared on the basis of Cartegena Protocol, to which Qatar is a party.
'The protocol will enable everyone to enjoy the benefits of biotechnology while avoiding unnecessary risks,' he said.
The long-term effects on human health of consuming GM food have not been investigated so far.
The Biosafety National Committee believes that through labelling, customers can distinguish GMO products from the rest.
Though most of the GCC countries have become the party to the Cartegena Protocol in the rent past, Qatar is the first country to draft a law in check the proliferation of GMOs. Greenpeace has hailed Qatar's initiative. – TradeArabia News Service