Pressing Papaya

ILLEGAL GM PAPAYA FROM THAILAND HITS EUROPEAN FRUIT MARKET

A leading non-GM expert has warned the food and fruit industries to be vigilant against a banned variety of genetically modified papaya coming into the EU from Thailand, and not to be reliant on documentation, following a wave of genetically modified papaya being rejected by Border Controls during June.

“Globally, Thailand is an important producer of papaya and a significant percentage is exported primarily to Europe. Although genetically modified crops are not permitted in Thailand, there is support for GM technology and it would appear that GM seeds for an EU banned variety of papaya have been illegally distributed to farmers across Thailand,” explains Richard Werran, Managing Director of Cert ID Europe, the authority on non-GM Certification.

“Clearly the occurrence of GMOs in Thai papaya is not good news for the country’s export business to Europe because GM papaya is legally not permitted and consumers remain sensitive to GM issues in any case. While it is difficult to establish accurate information, indications are that a significant percentage of Thai cultivated papaya could now be transgenic.

“Cert ID urges EU importers of papaya, papaya derivatives such as juice and papaya containing products not to rely on documentation as verification of non-GM status but to install extra controls such as screening products for GM presence and to consider the additional security and peace of mind Non-GMO certification provides”, Werran concludes.