Taiwan passes new GMO tolerance regulations

Taiwan's government recently passed a law which, when implemented, will set some new tolerance regulations for food containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs). This new law will require all foods containing GMO ingredients to carry a label and will also set the tolerance of GMO content for which ingredients must be labeled at 0.9%, similar to regulations in the European Union (EU).

The Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently drafting the implementation regulations for this new policy. These new regulations are expected to be published in May or June of 2014 and are anticipated to stipulate that items on menus and food sold in fresh markets will also require labeling regarding GMO content.

It is unknown at this time if the regulation will cover the testing bodies that will be authorized to certify the GMO content of imported foods/ingredients, and if certifications in country of origin will be allowed. After the Taiwan FDA publishes the new regulations, there will be a 30 day comment period.

Taiwan consumes over 8 million bushels of soybeans used in soy foods. 95% of those 8 million bushels currently originate in the United States. 7.2 million bushels of those soybeans are GMO soybeans from the U.S.