Approved on Tuesday (17), in the Committee on the Environment of the Senate, report of Cidinho Santos (PR-MT), vice-president of the Parliamentary Front of Agriculture and Livestock (FPA). The proposal modifies the labeling of transgenics in Brazil and follows for analysis of the Commission of Transparency, Governance, Supervision and Control and Consumer Protection.
“Even after fifteen years of consumption, there is no evidence that transgenic foods cause direct damage to human health. Foods that can aggravate known health ailments such as gluten, lactose and trans fats do not require prominent symbols, “says the rapporteur of the proposal.
The Complementary Law Project (PLC) 34/2015 empowers producers to report the existence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on the product label if the concentration is less than 1% of the total composition of the commodity. If the concentration exceeds this limit, manufacturers shall include the information on the label, but without the letter ‘T’ inserted in a yellow triangle as it currently occurs.
The senator clarifies that no Brazilian consumer will have his right violated and the information will be clearer than the ‘T’ symbol, since not everyone knows its meaning. “Contrary to what has been disseminated, the PLC maintains the obligation of clear information and in Portuguese language, as requested by the Consumer Protection Code, about the possible transgenic nature of the product,” explains the senator.
He further argues that the proposal adapts the labeling standard in order to avoid a symbol that devalues Brazilian foods, since the graphic representation currently used is similar to that of warning, attention or risk signs, conveying the idea of danger . In the case of foods that do not contain genetically modified organisms, the approved project maintains the rule of the current decree that allows the use of the labeling “transgenic free”.