Podstawowe regulacje prawne Unii Europejskiej w zakresie żywności genetycznie zmodyfikowanej

Issues related to genetically modified food are diversified and cover a variety of different areas, including food safety law, common market law, environmental law, consumer law and human health. The European Union legislation contains a number of detailed regulations that ensure introduction of only secure genetically modified food in the market. Before the introduction in the market, it is necessary to meet particular requirements, and this obligation always lies with the producer of such food. Firstly, the applicant is obliged to provide a full safety assessment of produced food and secondly they must obtain a mandatory permission. The permission is given only when all the EU Member States reach an agreement in the Council allowing them to place particular genetically modified food on the market. Furthermore, the producer of transgenic food has responsibilities related to labeling and monitoring its movements within the area of the European Union. The legislation on genetically modified food in the European Union is aimed at protecting consumers against dangerous modified food and, on the other hand, at non-interference in the free movement of goods in the common market, which is the fundamental principle of the European Union.