Indonesia has maintained an open attitude to the use of GM seed technologies as well as the import of GM food products (PRG) into the market over the years, which is unsurprising as the country is the fourth most-populous country in the world and needs to feed many mouths.
The local Food and Drug Authority (BPOM) recently updated the regulations governing the production and sale of GM foods in the local market, in order to clarify the standards that these products need to meet before obtaining approval for sale.
“The community still needs to be protected from the effects of any GM foods that do not fulfil food safety standards, so we are updating the local Genetically Modified Food Product Supervision regulations in accordance with the advancement of updated knowledge, technology and laws in this area,” BPOM Head Taruna Ikrar said via a formal statement.
“One of these areas is the GM foods that require labelling – all along BPOM has mandated that GM foods must carry labels that state ‘GENETICALLY MODIFIED PRODUCT’ on the packaging, but these new regulations clarify exactly which products are not required to carry this.
“These will now include all GM foods that have been purified according to BPOM requirements and are in the form of oils, fats, sugars or starches.
“These items must not be protein-based and must no longer contain any GM DNA or GM protein components upon analysis.”
In addition, the new regulations have introduced an entire new section on genome editing to ensure that production is done within safety parameters.
“Food produced via the genome process will either be considered Genetically Modified Gene Edited foods or non-GM foods, depending on analysis,” said BPOM.
“This will be determined according to the GM Products Biosafety Commission (KKH PRG), which is a commission tasked with providing recommendations to the authorised minister and agency leadership that is compiling and determining the policies and issuance of GM biosafety certificates.
“In the case that the food product is determined to be a Genetically Modified Gene Edited food, then it is mandatory for the producer or importer to obtain approval and safety certification from BPOM.”
The focus will remain on GM food products containing at least 5% of GM DNA content, and in the case of processed foods made using more than one GM food ingredient, the percentage of GM DNA will be calculated for each individual ingredient.
Down to the source
The regulations have also mandated information regarding the origin /source of the donor organism DNA, or the closest species known to it, in order to ensure food safety is met.
“This is important to know to check whether the gene source/donor organism or other species within the same family is naturally pathogenic, produces toxins, or has other properties that affect human health,” said the agency.
“As such we have made it compulsory to include information such as both the common and scientific names; historical data with regard to food safety and the potential presence of toxins, allergens, pathogens and more; as well as a detailed description of the transformation process used to create the GM item.”
