MANDATORY LABELLING OF NANOFOOD AND THE WTO AGREEMENTS

Nor Akhmal Hasmin,Zinatul Ashiqin Zainol,Najwa Azizun,Nur Hafidah Abd Kadir

doi:10.32890/jis2020.16.4

Abstract

Labelling of food products that contain new technologies has been adopted to inform consumers and address concerns over uncertainty of the technologies. Even though food labelling is significant, the implementation of mandatory labelling measures for nanofood within the domestic legislation is only possible if the measure is aligned with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regulations. This paper examines whether mandatory labelling measure for nanofood would be permissible under the WTO agreements, i.e. the Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement and the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement. The study adopts a doctrinal approach and content analysis by examining relevant legal provisions in the WTO agreements, cases decided by the WTO, and other documents on nanofood labelling. Findings suggest that the labelling measure amounts to unnecessary barriers to international trade. The mandatory labelling is not an international labelling standard and the practice is trade restrictive. Some recommendations presented at the end of this paper shall give invaluable insights into the implementation of mandatory labelling for nanofood if any country decides to introduce the measures in their food information system.

Highlights

A sovereign state has principal authority towards its food regulations
This study concludes that mandatory labelling of nanofood is trade-restrictive and creates an unnecessary barrier to trade under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements
It is concluded that the mandatory labelling measure for nanofood is not an international standard for food labelling, and it is considered an unnecessary barrier to the international trade, under the provisions of Article 2.4 of the TBT Agreement

Summary

Introduction

A sovereign state has principal authority towards its food regulations. A state can adopt and introduce food standards to enhance food safety and protect its citizens from any risks. Nor Akhmal Hasmin, Zinatul Ashiqin Zainol, Najwa Azizun & Nur Hafidah Abd Kadir associated with food production (Orden & Robert, 2007; Rahmah Ismail, 2011) Such protection can be provided by improving the provisions of food information, either through mandatory or voluntary labelling measures (World Health Organisation, 2015). Product labelling is a standard that may trigger trade restrictions, i.e. nontariff measure (Ahmad Shafiee & Yeon, 2016) This standard may restrict international trade with countries that implement different labelling measures (Keane, 2006; Thow, Jones, Hawkes, Ali & Labonté, 2017). This study examines the mandatory labelling of nanofood that is permissible under the WTO agreements. This study concludes that mandatory labelling of nanofood is trade-restrictive and creates an unnecessary barrier to trade under the WTO agreements

Literature Review

Findings and Recommendations

Conclusion