Labelling of food and food ingredients produced "without genetic engineering"

The Novel Foods Regulation permits Member States to issue statutory provisions to inform consumers through labelling that the product concerned is not novel within the intendment of the Regulation or that the novel methods mentioned in the Regulation were not used to produce the food.

Based on this option, national labelling provisions for foods produced without genetic engineering were laid down in the reused national Novel Foods Regulation (NLV, new version of 14 February 2002, BgBl.I – Federal Gazette, p. 123) that entered into force in October 1998.

Application of the label of "without genetic engineering" is restricted to foods and food ingredients which neither contain nor were produced from genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Furthermore, the application of GMO derived processing aids, such as extraction solvents or enzymes does not comply with the labeling requirements. This exception also applies to foods from animals fed with GMO derived feed or feed additives or from animals that have been treated with GMO derived medicinal products. The latter are only permitted if no comparable conventionally produced medicinal products, in terms of therapeutic efficacy, are available.