The Research On Supervision Of EU’s Genetically Modified Food Safety

The emergence of GM foods is a great stride in food biological technology. Never in history has a technology provoked such fierce controversy like GM technology did in the development. On one hand, some countries pay great attention on the research and industrialization process of transgenic technology, on the other hand, the debates over GM technology and its product safety and the popularization necessity never stop. As EU is the area which has the most stringent supervision on GM food safety, it is worthy to explore its supervisory system which would help China learn the experience in GM food safety supervision and GM products international trade.Having system theory and development theory as the theoretical support, this paper would mainly utilize documentary research and case study research method for the overall research. First, the paper will carry out an overview of GM food safety. Then I shall introduce the EU GM food safety supervisory legal system, supervisory characteristics, and social influential factors, followed by further discussion about specific relative trade cases. The final conclusion would be drawn in the last section.The opinions this essay holds are as follows:The GM food is a necessary outcome of scientific and technological development as it brings good news when dealing with the problems of the growing food demands and climatic changes. The research and development should not be shelved because of the uncertainty of GM science and technology as security is relative. Under the guidance of the precautionary principle, EU adopts the system of risk analysis, the system of marketing authorization, the system of traceability and labeling, while holding a view from stern to limited approved. They advocate a full implementation of supervision, and deliver open and transparent information to the public on GM food. The formation of EU’s GM food safety supervision system is largely influenced by its scientific and technological, political, economical, religious ethics, social and cultural factors. The GM food trade war between Europe and the Americas, after all, is the contention of the economic benefits. China needs to dialectically adapt the EU’s experience of safety regulation of GM foods, starting with increasing research investment and strengthening intellectual property management, then formulating strategic trade policy and actively participating international cooperation, and meanwhile creating exchange platform to resolve uneven GM information problem, to keep information open and visible to the public therefore defending the public’s right to know and choose.