Safety Assessment and Liability Regulations in the Context of Genetically Modified Food in the Brics Countries

• Author: Sh. K. Balashanmugam
• Position: Tamil Nadu National Law School (Tamil Nadu, India)
• Pages: 27-55

BRICS LAW JOURNAL Volume V (2018) Issue 1

SaFETY aSSESSMEnT anD LIaBILITY REGuLaTIonS

In THE ConTEXT oF GEnETICaLLY MoDIFIED FooD

In THE BRICS CounTRIES

SHANMUGAM KABALEESWARAN BALASHANMUGAM,

Tamil Nadu National Law School

(Tamil Nadu, India)

DOI: 10.21684/2412-2343-2017-5-1-27-55

International trade of food products is expected to increase rapidly with the widespread

introduction of genetically modied (GM) food. There will be greater participation of

developing countries based on investment as well as research and development. Investment

in research and development and commercial production of GM crops is high in Asia,

particularly in India and China, but also in Latin American countries, such as Brazil, and on

the African continent, especially in South Africa. Despite the merits, the introduction of GM

foods in the world market has continued to raise public concerns touching upon health,

legal, social, ethical and environmental issues. Especially, the issue of contamination is

considered a signicant threat at many stages of development of GM food. Transboundary

aspects and certain aspects of the components of the food safety system such as safety

assessment, liability and redress are still not completely addressed. The present study is

the systematic review of the extent of the development of legislation and institutional

mechanisms in relation to safety assessment and liability mechanisms for regulating the

emerging GM foods in the developing countries of BRICS. Additionally, the comparison of

the components of national food safety systems of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South

Africa reveals dierences in policy and regulation in relation to GM food.

Keywords: food polic y; regulation; genetically modied food; developing countries;

BRICS; food safety assessment; liability; transboundary; comparative analysis.

Recommended citation: Shanmugam Kabaleeswaran Balashanmugam, S afety

Assessment and Liability Regulations in the Context of Genetically Modied Food in

the BRICS Countries, 5(1) BRICS Law Journal 27–55 (2018).

BRICS LAW JOURNAL Volume V (2018) Issue 1 28

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Commercial Status of GM Food in BRICS Countries

2. Governmental Policies Towards GM Food: Promotion of Restriction

3. International Trade Regulations on GM Food and Derivatives

3.1. Safety Regulations

3.1.1. WTO Agreement

3.1.2. Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety

3.2. Liability Framework

3.2.1. Basel Convention and Basel Liability Protocol

3.2.2. Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and Its Supplementary Protocol

4. Leading Judicial Pronouncements on the Adaptabilityof Precautionary

Approach in Domestic Legislation

5. Critical Analysis

5.1. Safety Regulation in BRICS Countries

5.2. Liability Mechanisms in BRICS Countries

Conclusion

Introduction

The signicant role of GM technology in agriculture and export performance is

quite impressive in developing countries which surpassed the developed world in

2011.1 Among the developing countries, the commercial production of GM crops

is high in Asia, particularly in India and China, but also in some Latin American

countries, such as Brazil, as well as in a few African countries, especially South Africa.

As of 2015, the total population of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa)

was over 3.6 billion people (considered to be half of the world population).2 Brazil

is the second largest producer of GM next to the United States.

The public concerns about genetically modied (GM) food and crops are not new.

In fact, the potential health concerns of GM foods were advanced as early as 1994,

simultaneously with the inception of GM food.3 To some extent, th ese concerns

1 James Clive, 20th Anniversary (1996 to 2015) of the Global Commercialization of Biotech Crops and Biotech

Crop Highlights in 2015, ISAAA Brief No. 51, ISAAA: Ithaca, NY (2015). In 2015, 54% or 97.1 million

hectares of land were cultivated with GM crops by 18 million small and resource-poor farmers from

20 developing countries.

2 Population Ranking Table, Population Ranking from the World Bank (Feb. 20, 2018), available at http://

data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/Population-ranking-table; The World Factbook, Central Intelligence

Agency, United States of America (Feb. 20, 2018), available at https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/

the-world-factbook/rankorder/2119rank.html.

3 Irvin E. Liener, Implications of Anti-Nutritional Components in Soybean Foods, 34(1) Critical Reviews in

Food Science and Nutrition 31 (1994).