Sri Lanka announces ban on genetically modified food imports

AP 13apr01

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - The government has announced a ban on imports of all genetically modified foods from May 1, a state-run newspaper reported Friday.

The Daily News quoted Health Minister W.D.J Seneviratne as saying that public health inspectors will check all foods entering the country at sea ports and airports.

Sri Lanka, a country of 18.6 million people, imports a variety of foods, including potatoes, orange juice, chocolates and soups. Apples from the United States and Australia are also imported.

Under the new order, the government will ban the import, manufacture, transport, storage, distribution and sale of any food item that has been produced using genetic engineering technology.

Health ministry studies have shown that genetically modified chocolates, oils and soups are marketed in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka Sticks to Ban on GM Food 

Sunday Observer 13may01

XINHUA --  The Sri Lankan government has decided to stick to its ban on Genetically Modified Foods (GMF) to avert any health hazard despite strong criticism by the United States, a government official said. Chief Food and Drugs Inspector of the Ministry of Health S. Nagiah told the official Sunday Observer that the ministry was more concerned about the safety of the people than making it a testing ground for the new technology. Many foreign scientists have criticized the bio-technology and its health risks. The Food and Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Health after a research study on the subject for a period of one year had imposed the ban on the importation of genetically modified foods, materials, organisms and food additives under the new regulations, he said. He said that his country has no ways of detecting GMF and depends on the certificate issued by a well-recognized laboratory of the exporting country. The certificate should indicate that the food or any ingredient are not produced by genetically modified materials, he added. Weyland Beeghly, an Agricultural Counselor from the US embassy in New Delhi, India said here recently that Sri Lanka's view on the GMF is totally false and offensive. The bulk of wheat Sri Lanka imported from the US, which accounted for nearly 500,000 tons annually, was not genetically modified. He said that Sri Lankan authorities had to give scientific justifications to the World Trade Organization to prove the ban. Sri Lanka is reportedly the first country to introduce the ban on GMF, which was effective from May 1 this year.