On 17 December 2009 the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine introduced changes to the Law "On the Quality and Safety of Food Products" (the "Amended Law"), which are pending President's signature. The Amended Law, originally adopted in 1997, regulates relationship among governmental authorities, food producers, traders and consumers in the course of manufacturing, processing, supply (including import and export), transportation, storage, sale, consumption and disposal of food products and raw materials.

The Amended Law introduces new labelling requirements for food products. Specifically, the label of any food product must refer to the presence or absence of genetically modified organisms (GMO) in the product by inscribing "With GMOs" or "Without GMOs" respectively on the label.

The Amended Law does not apply to tobacco and tobacco products, and food produced for personal use.

Law: "Law on Amending Article 38 of the Law "On the Quality and Safety of Food Products" (as regards informing citizens about genetically modified organisms (GMO) in food products)."

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The original publication date for this article was 24/12/2009.