The Union Consumer Affairs Ministry notification on mandatory labelling of packaged food products containing genetically-modified foods or food ingredients may primarily be targeting imported foods that are flooding the domestic market. But it will willy-nilly have an impact on the domestic market for vegetable oil and vanaspati (hydrogenated oil).
India annually produces approximately 11-12 lakh tonnes of cottonseed oil, a significant part of which in recent years is extracted from genetically-modified cottonseed. To be sure, in the process of oil extraction the problematic protein remains in the cake/meal and not in oil.
Even small traces of protein that may be found in the unrefined oil will be removed after refining. In case of cottonseed oil, it is mandatory that the oil sold to consumers is in the refined form.
Apart from going for direct human consumption as liquid oil, cottonseed oil is used as a raw material for vanaspati. It is incorporated as an ingredient in the making of vanaspati that usually is a mixture of many oils and hydrogenated.
So, will packaged cottonseed sold for human consumption be labelled as GM food? Also, will vanaspati incorporating genetically-modified cottonseed oil be subject to labelling? The industry will have to ponder over this issue. Additionally, India imports about 10-15 lakh tonnes of soyabean oil from abroad (Argentina, mainly) that is extracted from genetically modified soyabean. Will these oils, too, if sold for direct human consumption as liquid oil or incorporated as ingredient in vanaspati, be subject to labelling?
India produces about 15-17 lakh tonnes of soyabean oil from indigenously grown soyabean which obviously is non-GM. Both indigenous and imported soyaoils usually get blended in the marketplace which makes it nearly impossible to distinguish one from the other.
Unfortunately, identity preservation and traceability are virtually unknown concepts in our country. A large part of vegetable oils is sold in loose and not packaged form. Implementation of the mandatory labelling rule is sure to affect companies that sell packaged cottonseed oil and soyabean oil while allowing others to escape the law.
For the authorities seeking to enforce the labelling rule, it is going to be well-nigh impossible to detect whether cottonseed oil or soyabean oil is of GM origin. There is suspicion, the law enforcers may not have appropriate testing tools or equipment. Such a state of affairs is fraught with risks for the industry. The sooner it seeks clarity from the government the better. Because the oil, especially after refining, does not contain any protein, it may be desirable to exempt such goods from the mandatory labelling law.
In any case, for over eight years now, Indians have been consuming cottonseed oil of GM-origin, either directly or in the form of vanaspati, without any complaint. It is strange the policymakers are now keen to give consumers a chance to make an informed choice.
There is also danger that consumer perception may be swayed against GM foods. What prevents the government from strengthening its border controls so as to ensure that unauthorised and unlabelled GM foods do not enter the country?