The authorities tested 146 products primarily containing rice, corn, soya and linseed, but found no foods that did not comply with GMO regulations.

The laboratories of the Food and Feed Safety Directorate of the National Food Chain Safety Office analyzed a total of 146 food samples: products containing rice, corn, soya and linseed. Within the European Union, the food industry is permitted to use several soya and corn species containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs), but consumers must be made aware of the GMO content (above 0.9%), meaning it must be written on the label.

Laboratory tests concluded that none of the 27 products containing rice and the 7 products containing linseed were GMO-contaminated. Of the 30 samples containing corn, 1 contained GMOs, but only within permitted levels.

The GMO contamination of products containing soya is decreasing year by year: in 2009, 51% of samples contained higher levels of GMOs than permitted, while this figure dropped to 42% in 2010 and to 17% in 2011. This year, 20 of the tested 83 soya products were found to contain GMO contamination, but in no case did GMO content exceed the legal limit of 0.9%.

Minister for Rural Development Sándor Fazekas ordered the special, informative and pre-emptive monitoring in early March. The authorities held strict inspections in warehouses and at supermarket chains, which brought reassuring results. The Ministry has concluded that the government's consistent policy on GMOs is being respected by the market.

The monitoring of foods containing GMOs does not end with the completion of special testing; the authorities test 350-400 samples each year.

(Press Office of the Ministry of Rural Development)