Jan 02, Colombo: All imported food items that contain genetically modified (GM) substances need to be labeled starting in 2007 in accordance with the Food (Control of Import, Labeling and Sale of Genetically Modified Foods) Regulations 2006, which were enacted on January 1.

Importation, storage, transportation, distribution and sale of any kind of food that contains a genetically modified substance without the approval of the Chief Food Authority is illegal under the new regulations.

The Director General of Health Services with the assistance of a Technical Evaluation Committee is the Chief Food Authority, who has the power to approve food that contains genetically modified substances.

The regulations had been requested by Sri Lankan environmentalists for a long time. Initially, the Sri Lankan government attempted to ban GM foods in 2001. But the move was postponed due to pressure from local chambers of commerce and some foreign embassies. City Bank Card, Chase low rate loan, American Express