Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 14
By Huseyn Valiyev - Trend:
Azerbaijan’s Food Safety Agency will take under control imported forage containing genetically modified organism (GMO), Elhan Mikayilov, advisor to the Agency’s chairman, told Trend Feb. 14.
He said that there are no serious problems with GMO in Azerbaijan and, as is known, the production and circulation of products containing GMO is prohibited in the country.
“The only fact that remains relevant is the import of GMO-containing forage,” he noted. “Approximately 95 percent of the forage in the world, especially soybean ones, contain GMO, and their total ban may negatively affect this segment. Nevertheless, this issue is reflected in the new draft “Law on Food Safety” and can be settled by registering forage and issuing appropriate permits for their import.”
This process is controlled by laboratory tests, he said. Also, no less important aspect complicating the regulatory process is the lack of a registry, he added.
“The absence of the registry doesn’t allow obtaining visual information about the country that manufactures and imports such products,” he noted. “We intend to regulate this process via registration, that is, to issue permissions to those who pass the registration. Regarding the registry, it will be created after a new law is adopted.”
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