Canadian Minister of Health Allan Rock said yesterday that labels on genetically modified food should be mandatory in the country. In August, a national task force recommended a voluntary labeling system in Canada, but Rock said the country should instead follow the lead of the European Union, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, and impose labeling rules on the food industry. “It is about time government caught up to the will of Canadians to be reasonably informed about what they are putting in their bodies,” Rock said. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical giant Novartis confirmed yesterday that Greenpeace was correct in claiming that some baby food sold in the Philippines by Novartis subsidiary Gerber contained genetically modified soy.
