. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/TBT/W/134
23 May 2000
(00-2099)
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:  English
THE DEVELOPMENT OF A VOLUNTARY STANDARD FOR THE LABELLING
OF FOODS DERIVED FROM BIOTECHNOLOGY
Communication from Canada
The following communication, dated 18 May 2000, has been received from Canada with the
request that it be circulated to Members of the Committee.
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1. At the 1 October 1999 meeting of the Committee, Canada reiterated its concerns over the
number of members opting to impose mandatory labelling requirements for foods derived from
biotechnology, which appear to go beyond a scientifically-based food safety objective.  Canada drew
members' attention to a less trade restrictive approach for providing information to consumers.
Specifically, we referred to the government of Canada's 17 September 1999 announcement of a
project to develop a voluntary labelling standards for foods derived from biotechnology.  In responseto interest expressed by delegations we are pleased to provide additional information to the
Committee.
2. In 1995, the Canadian government proposed guidelines for the labelling of foods derived
through biotechnology.  This standard requires labelling of a product when the product differs
significantly from its traditional counterpart in term s of nutritional content, composition, intended use,
or if the food carries a health or safety risk (e.g. allergenicity) that can be mitigated through labelling.
This approach provides important information to consumers and is consistent with Canada'sWTO obligations.
3. In September 1999, the Canadian Council of Grocer y Distributors undertook to work with a
variety of stakeholders from industry, environm ental groups, consumer groups, academics and the
Canadian General Standards Board to develop a voluntary national standard for the labelling of
“Foods Obtained or Not Obtained through Genetic Modification”.  This move was largely in responseto consumer demand for more information.  The Canadian government supports this approach and
considers it to be consistent with our international trade obligations.  The Canadian General Standards
Board, an accredited standards development organization within the federal government which has
accepted the TBT Agreement’s “Code of Good Practice”, was selected to manage the process.  The
membership of the committee is balanced, and represents a broad spectrum of views.  The Chair ofthe Committee is a key member of the Consumers’ Association of Canada, a consumers’ advocacy
group.
The Scope of this Committee is as follows:
(i) The development of general principles and models for voluntary declarations that are
understandable, informative, verifiable, and not false or misleading for use as claims
in food labelling and advertising;G/TBT/W/134
Page 2
(ii) Procedures required to verify the truthfulness of these declarations (or equivalent
declarations) as claims in food labelling and advertising from production to final
point of sale;
(iii) Principles of a certification mechanism, where applicable;(iv) Definitions that are clear and concise.
4. Since its inauguration, the group has met three times, most recently in April 2000.  It will
meet again in July 2000.  In April, the group discussed a consolidated text and the Committee remains
optimistic that a draft standard will be completed by the fall of this year.
5. The Committee has acknowledged that public awareness must be increased on biotechnology
in general.  As such, the Committee has suggested th at the voluntary standard should be accompanied
by information transmitted through various means such as mass media, point-of-sale literature and
advertising.
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