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Greenpeace activists uproot a genetically modified crop in a protest against bioengineered food.

A newly-proposed food safety law should restrict the amount of genetically modified elements in food, National Assembly representatives said.

Genetically modified foods are those derived from genetically modified organisms that have had specific changes introduced into their DNA by genetic engineering.

According to the draft law, foods using GM materials must be certified as biologically safe by authorized agencies in the country of origin.

Dang Vu Minh, chairman of the National Assembly’s Science, Technology and Environment Committee, said GM food is a “complicated and sensitive issue” and there should be restrictions as to how much GM food we use and eat.

He was speaking on the sidelines of the current National Assembly meeting, which is focusing on the draft food safety law.

The proportion of GM materials should also be indicated on product labels, he said.

Greenpeace, a US-based environmental conservation NGO, has described the use of GM food and crops as “a disaster.”

The organization’s website sites a monopoly on seed stocks by giant multinationals, cross-contamination of non-GM crops and organisms, crop failure, economic ruin for farmers, threats to biodiversity and potential risks to human health as part of this disaster.

The real reason for the development of GM foods “has not been to end world hunger but to increase the stranglehold multinational biotech companies already have on food production,” according to Greenpeace.

“Even though consumers have rejected GM foods outright, the biotech companies and the governments that support them are still trying to force their inventions on us, purely for commercial gain.”

‘Cleaning up’ the streets

The new food law should also give local authorities more power to manage street food, other representatives said.

“We don’t have a big enough inspection force, we have only 12 inspectors,” said Nguyen Dang Vang, deputy chairman of the National Assembly’s Science, Technology and Environment Committee. “There should be between 5,000 and 7,000 inspectors to control street food.”

“Local authorities should have more power to issue fines against violations,” he told Thanh Nien.

He also said local authorities needed more authority to pass their own regulations on the matter.

Drafters of the new law have proposed for the first time regulations on street food, including the minimal distance food facilities must be from manholes, garbage dumps and other pollution sources. The draft stipulates that no one may sell their goods on the ground and all vendors must have enough clean water to clean their equipment and process their food hygienically.

More detailed requirements will be brought forth by the Ministry of Health, according to the draft law, which will be revisited on November 23 and November 26 and is expected to be approved next May.

Reported by Bao Van