A majority of consumers interviewed by the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) confess to having little knowledge of genetically modified foods, but would still support labelling on products.
Almost nine in every ten of the consumers interviewed by the FSA said they are aware of genetically modifed (GM) foods. However, more than half admit to having "low" knowledge of the subject.
In a report that contains several contradictory answers from consumers, 2% of those questioned said they spontaneously check labels for the presence GM ingredients, yet two thirds of respondents said GM labelling is important.
This disparity is perhaps partly explained by a defacto moratorium on GM in much of the UK food retailing sector of the past decade, following a series of health and environmental concerns raised at the turn of the Millenium.
However, the current UK government is keen to embrace GM technology as a possible way of securing the nation's food supply. Last year, Morrisons dropped its GM-free feed requirement for suppliers of poultry and eggs.
The FSA's survey comes in light of renewed government enthusiasm and also a move by the European Commission to consider implementing a European Union-wide labelling scheme for GM.
"At present, many consumers have low spontaneous needs with regard to GM labelling and do not appear to be actively seeking to avoid GM in foods by looking at labelling or other means," said the FSA.
However, it said consumers had a narrow preference for labelling the presence of GM ingredients, rather than highlighting their absence in the form of a GM-free label.
