EU rules on GMO labelling potentially a losing case

A new PhD thesis concludes, among other things, that the EU is in a weak position in relation to its requirement for labelling of genetically modified foods (GMO foods) if countries such as the USA, Canada and Argentina were to choose to bring an action with a view to having the labelling rules declared to be in contravention of the WTO agreements on the free movement of goods.

On 14 December, Post Doc Lars Bracht Andersen, Aarhus School of Business, University of Aarhus, defended his PhD thesis “Marketing of genetically modified foods – EU law regulation and interaction with the WTO” (Markedsføring af genmodificerede fødevarer - den EU-retlige regulering og samspillet med WTO).

In his thesis, Lars Bracht Andersen establishes that there are potential problems for the EU in relation to the rules which stipulate that foods containing GMO must be labelled in order to give European consumers a real choice between GMO foods and conventional products.

Invitation to opt out of products

In countries such as the USA, Canada and Argentina, which practice extensive use of GMO in their food production, the EU rules are deemed to be unfair trade barriers rather than well-founded measures established to protect consumer health.

“In my opinion, the labelling requirement in particular poses a potential problem in relation to the WTO agreements. The contention in the USA, Canada and Argentina, among others, is that the labelling requirement cannot be based on the desire to protect consumers against health risks as the requirement only comprises foods which have already been approved in accordance with the EU’s own procedures. The fact that products which have already been approved once as safe foods still need to be labelled is perceived by these countries as a requirement for them to sort of invite consumers to opt out of their products by equipping them with a warning that the product contains GMO ingredients,” says Lars Bracht Andersen.

Changed rules will cause outcry

If the USA, Canada and Argentina were to choose to have the WTO Dispute Settlement Body review the EU’s GMO labelling rules, the EU would be facing a huge challenge.

“It would be quite problematic if the EU were to lose such a case. It would cause an outcry in many member states if, as a consequence, the EU were to decide that the labelling rules would have to be changed. But the EU will also have a problem in relation to the WTO agreements if it were to choose not to comply with a WTO decision,” says Lars Bracht Andersen.

From a general point of view, the PhD thesis concludes that the EU’s present rules on the marketing of GMO foods function as intended. By establishing a central approval scheme and making requirements for the labelling of the approved GMO foods, the EU has succeeded in protecting consumer health and, simultaneously, ensuring equal conditions of competition in the member states.


Post Doc Lars Bracht Andersen
Department of Law, Aarhus School of Business, University of Aarhus
Tel.: +45 8948 6888
Mobile: +45 2889 8602
Email: lba@asb.dk 

Media coverage:
See the article on food health in Børsen FødevareSundhed published on Thursday, 13 December.