THAT soya bean drink you are sipping could have been made from
genetically modified beans. But it is unlikely you will ever know
for sure.
The reason: unlike dozens of developed countries around the
world, Singapore does not require manufacturers and retailers to
label food as genetically modified.
While the foods have not proven to be unsafe, their sale has
sparked protests from Indonesia to the United States, driven
largely by fears about the long-term effects of tinkering with
mother nature.
According to the Genetic Modification Advisory Committee (GMAC)
about half of the
corn, canola oil and soya bean sold in
Singapore is genetically modified.
The odds are that plenty of food in the larder - from nachos, to
poultry, to baby food to soy milk - could contain ingredients whose
genetic makeup has been altered in a bid to make them plumper,
tastier or resistant to disease.
<!-- show media links starting at 7th para -->Dr Wong Kwok
Onn, head of the survey and safety review branch at the Agri-Food
and Veterinary Authority (AVA), said that Singapore's reliance on
imported food means '(genetically-modified) foods could be anywhere
on the market now'.
Consumers, though, have little way of knowing what they're
buying.
Singapore laws allow manufacturers and importers to leave off or
even remove labels that would tell consumers they are buying
genetically modified food.
Many companies, Dr Wong said, do just that because they are
'worried that Singaporeans might not accept them.'
While the issue is a major one around the globe, it is only just
gaining steam here.
Read the full story in Friday's edition of The Straits
Times.
http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/STIStory_216491.html