Jill Evans MEP has welcomed a decision by the European Parliament to back stricter labelling of GM foods in Strasbourg today (Wednesday), despite efforts by the Labour government to block the legislation.

The leader of Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales in the European Parliament hailed the decision as a victory for public opinion but criticised Tony Blair for putting pressure on British MEPs to oppose the proposals.

The new rules will extend the current labelling provisions to include both GM food and food derived from GM products, and will ensure that all products containing more than 0.5 per cent of GMOs are labelled.

Speaking from Strasbourg Jill Evans MEP said:

"This is a great day for consumer protection. The European Parliament has made it clear that in future the public should have the right to know what they eat.

"In refusing to support more thorough labelling Tony Blair was effectively denying the public a right to choose whether or not to buy food produced from GMOs."

The Government had sent MEPs a briefing paper urging them to vote against the proposals, arguing that GM food is very far down the list of consumer priorities.

Ms Evans added:

"Consumer groups in the UK and throughout Europe will welcome today’s decision. Of all the issues that have been discussed in the European Parliament in recent years this is the one that has generated the biggest response. I have been inundated by members of the public asking that their right to choose what they eat is protected through stricter GM labelling. I am proud to say that, despite Tony Blair’s efforts, this has now been achieved."

Jill Evans represents the whole of Wales in the European Parliament and is a prominent anti GM campaigner. She is a member of the Parliament’s Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection Committee who proposed the new legislation.

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