GCC STANDARDIZATION ORGANIZATION (GSO) 
 
  
      
Final Draft  
  
  
GSO5/ FDS …./2010  
 
      
  وراﺛﻴﺎ  اﻟﻤﺤﻮرة  اﻟﻤﺼﻨﻌﺔ  اﻷﻋﻼف  و ﻟﻸﻏﺬﻳﺔ  اﻟﻌﺎﻣﺔ  اﻟﻤﺘﻄﻠﺒﺎت  
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR GENETICALLY 
MODIFIED PROCESSED FOOD AND FEED  
  
 
    
                         
   
Prepared by:  
 
Gulf technical committee for standards of food and agriculture products 
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 
This document is a draft Gulf  standard circulated for comments, it is therefore, 
subject to change, and may not be referre d it as a Gulf standard, until approved by 
the Board of Directors.  .   Foreword 
  
    
Standardization Organization for G CC (GSO) is a regional Organization 
which consists of the National Standard s Bodies of GCC me mber States. One 
of GSO main functions is to issue Gulf Standards /Technical regulation 
through specialized technical committees (TCs). 
 
GSO through the technical progra m of committee TC No 5  "  The Gulf 
Technical Committee for Food and Ag ricultural Standards Products" has 
prepared this Standard .  The Dr aft Standard has been prepared by 
(KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA      ) 
 
 The draft Standard has been prepared based on re levant ADMO, International 
and National foreign Sta ndards and references. 
 
This standard has been approved as Gu lf (Standard / Technical Regulation)   
by GSO Board of Directors in its meeting No..../....  …….held on    /    /   /  H 
,  /    /   G GSO STANDARD  GSO ...... / 2010
 
 1 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR GENETICALLY 
MODIFIED PROCESSED FOOD AND FEED  
 
1. SCOPE AND FIELD OF APPLICATION 
  This GSO standard  is concerned w ith general requirements for processed food  
and feed obtained through certain techni ques of genetic modification and 
processed food  and feed that contain or produced from genetically modified 
organism (GMO) if the GMO present is  higher than 1 % ,of the ingredients 
considered individually, or if it consist  of a single  ingredient  
 
2.        COMPLEMENTARY REFERENCES 
2/1     GSO 9   (labelling of prepackaged foodstuffs ) 
 
2/2    GSO 21   (hygienic regulations  for food plants a nd their personnel) 
 
2/3    GSO 323    ( general requirements for transportation and  storage of chilled and     
frozen  foods) 
 2/4   GSO 382    ( Maximum Limits for Pesticide Residues in   Agriculture and 
Food Products , Part 1) .  
 2/5  GSO 383  
 ( Maximum Limits for Pesticid e Residues in Agriculture and 
Food        Products , Part 2) . 
 2/6   GSO 168
  (Requirements of Storage Faci lities for Dry and Canned Food  
Stuffs ). 
 2/7    GSO 839   ( Food Packages, part 1, General requirements). 
 2/8   GSO 841
  ( Maximum Limits of Mycotoxins  permitted in Foods and animal 
Feeds- Aflatoxins ). 
 2/9    GSO 1859
 ( Food Packages- Part 2: Plastic Packages , General 
requirements). 
 2/10  GSO 988  ( limits of radiactivity Levels Permitted in Foodstuffs-part 1).  
2/11    GSO 1016
  (microbiological criteria for foodstuffs –part 1) 
 
 2/12   GSO ISO21572  (Foodstuffs - Me thods for the detection of genetically 
modified organisms and derived pr oducts - Protein based methods) 
 GSO STANDARD  GSO ...... / 2010
 
 2 2/13  GSO ISO21571 (Foodstuffs - Methods of anal ysis for the detection of        
genetically modified organisms and derive d products - Nucleic acid extraction) 
 2/14  GSO ISO21569 (Foodstuffs -- Methods of analysis for the detection of 
genetically modified organisms and derive d products -- Qualitative nucleic acid 
based methods) 
 2/15  GSO ISO21570 (Foodstuffs -- Methods of analysis for the detection of 
genetically modified organisms and derived products -- Quantitative nucleic 
acid based methods) 
 2/16    GSO ....... ( methods of analysis fo r detection of genetically modified   
organisms and drived products- sampling). 
 2/17  GSO ....... ( general requirements for risk assessment and   Traceability of 
genetically modifi ed   products). 
 
2/18      GSO .......(.general requirements  for genetically modified un processed 
agricultural products) 
 
 
3.     DEFINITIONS 
 
3/1    LIVING ORGANISM –  
 Means any biological entity capable of  transferring or replicating genetic 
material, including sterile organisms, viruses and viroids. 
 3/2    GENETICALLY MODIFIED / ENGINEERED ORGANISM  – 
 Means an organism in which the gene tic material has been changed through 
modern biotechnology in a way that does not occur naturally by multiplication and /or natural recombination. 
 3/3    MODERN BIOTECHNOLOGY 
 – 
 Means the application of: 
–  In vitro nucleic acid techniques,  including recombinant deoxyribonucleic 
acid (DNA) and direct injection of nucleic acid into cells organelles, or  
–  Fusion of cells beyond the taxonomic family, that overcome natural 
physiological reproductive or recombin ation barriers and that are not 
techniques used in traditional breeding and selection 
  
 GSO STANDARD  GSO ...... / 2010
 
 3 3/4    GENETICALLY MODI FIED ORGANISM FOR FOOD USE 
 A GMO that may be used as food or as  a source material for the production of 
food e.g. maiz  
 3/5    GENETICALLY MODIFI ED ORGANISM FOR FEED USE 
 A GMO that may be used as feed or as a source material for the production of 
feed e.g. soybeen.  
 3/6     PRODUCED FROM GMOs  
 Derived in whole or in part from GM Os but not containing a GMOs (e.g.  maiz 
oil) 
  3/7   CONVENTIONAL FOOD OR FEED: 
 Means a similar food or feed produced w ithout the help of genetic modification 
and for which there is a well-established history of safe use; 
 3/ 8    PROCESSED FOOD OR FEED:  
 processed food" means any food differ fr om its raw states because it has been 
subjected  to processing.  
 
3/9    GENETICALLY MODIFIED PROCESSED FOOD  
 Processed food containing , consisting of  or produced from GMOs (i.e. potao 
and tomato)  
3/10    GENETICALLY MODIFIED PROCESSED FEED  
  Processed feed containing or consis ting of GMOs or produced from GMOs. 
 
4.      REQURIEMENTS  
 Without prejudice of what stated in GSO standard mentioned in item 2/1 the 
following requirements shall be clearly identified on the label for GM food and 
feed and their  ingredients. 
4/1    GENERAL REQUIRMENTS 
       Food and Feed referred in this standard must:  
4/1/1     Be compatible with the ethical regulation applied in the imported countery           GSO STANDARD  GSO ...... / 2010
 
 4 4/1/2     Have no diverse effects on human health , animal health, plant health  or the            
environment 
  
4/1/3    Not differ from the product, which is  intended to replace to such an extent that 
its   normal consumption would be nutritionally disadvantageous for humans or animals. 
4/1/4    The product must be accompanied w ith a certificate  proving that it is allowed 
to be consumed in the country it was produced.  
4/1/5    The  presence  in  any  food  or  food  ingredients  obt ained through  certain 
techniques of genetic modification/ge netic engineering of an allergen 
transferred from any foods and ingredients, shall always be declared 
4/1/6      Pesticides residues should be according to the limits in item 2/4 and 2/5 . 
4/1/7     Aflatoxins residues should be according to the limits in item 2/8 .  4/1/8     Radiation levels should be according to the limits in item 2/10 .  4/1/9     Microbiological levels should be according to the limits in item 2/11  4/1/10  . In addition to the above mentioned requirements all other requirements stated 
for the conventional counterpart should al so be followed unless it is in conflict 
with the requirements of this standard  
4/1/11    Traceability and risk assessment should be according to item  2/17 
4/1/12     for  genetically modified raw agricultural commodity should be in according to 
the       GSO standard in item 2/18 
 
 
 4/2    LABELLING REQUIREMENTS  
 Without prejudice of what stated in  SASO mentioned in item 2.1, and the 
requirements stated in the SASO Sa udi Standard for each product. The 
following requirements shall be clearly identified on the labeling  
4/2/1   If the product consists of more than  one ingredient , the words (genetically   
modified) or ( produced from genetically modified, name of the ingredient ) shall appear  clearly and easily to be read in the list of ingredients in parentheses immediately following the i ngredient concerned with same font 
size and different color. 
4/2/2    If the ingredient is designated by the name of a category, the words ( contains      
genetically modified, name of organism) or ( contains , name of ingredient, 
produced from genetically modified, name  of organism) shall appear clearly GSO STANDARD  GSO ...... / 2010
 
 5 and easily to be read in the list of ingr edients with same font size and different 
color. 
4/2/3    If there is no list of ingredients , the words ( genetically modified ) or    
(produced from genetically modified , name  of organism ,) shall appear clearly 
and easily to be on the labeling .  
4/2/4  Labeling must not mislead the purchaser as to the characteristics of the food     
stuff and among other things, in particular , as to its nature, identity, properties, 
composition, method of production and manufacturing. 
4/2/5   The indications referred to in (4/2/1  and 4/2/2) may appear in a footnote to the 
list of ingredients and in this case they must be printed in a font at least the 
same size as the list of ingredients. If th ere is no list of ingredients , they must 
appear clearly and easily to be read on the labeling .  
4/2/6    If the food is offered for sale to  the final consumer as non-pre-packaged food 
or as prepackaged food in small containe rs of which the largest surface has an 
area of less than 10 cm square, the inform ation required in  (4/2/1 and 4/2/2) 
must be permanently and visibly disp layed either on the food display or 
immediately next to it, or on the packag ing material, in font sufficiently large 
for it to be easily identified and  read .  
4/2/7     If the food is deffrent from its  conventional counterpart the labelling shall 
mention any characteristic or property concerning the following : 
-   Composition. -  Mode of  storage and packing -   Nutritional value or nutritional effects. 
-   Intended use of product. 
-   Any Implication on  certain  group of people .   
4/2/8   If the food does not have a conve ntional counterpart , the labelling shall 
contain   appropraite information about the nature and the characteristics of the foods concerned .   
4/2/9    If the mode of storage, prepar ation or cooking of the product is [no longer  
equivalent  to/differs significantly] from the corresponding existing a clear 
instructions for use must be given on the label of this product   
   GSO STANDARD  GSO ...... / 2010
 
 6          
5/    SAMPLING :  
           Samples shall be taken according to GSO (2/16) and the sampling stated  in the 
GSO standard for each product . 
 
6/    METHODS OF ANALYSES :  
            Analyses on samples shall be  done according to the methods in GSO (2/12  and 
2/13 and 2/14 and 2/15) . 
 
7/    PACKAGING :  
         Without prejudice of GSO in ite m ( 2/7 and 2/9 ) the  product shall be packed 
in suitable , clean ,sufficiently strong package which not be used previously and have no contaminating  effect on the product or its quality.     
 
8/    STORAGE AND TRANSPORTATION : 
 Without prejudice to requirements in ite m ( 2/3 and 2/6) the product shall be 
stored in a store wich protect it from  insects, rodents and humidity and high 
temperature. The product shall be transpor ted in suitable way as to protect its 
quality .  
 
  
 
   
 
  
 
  GSO STANDARD  GSO ...... / 2010
 
 7 References  
 
 
-  Regulation ( EC) No 1829/2003 of the Eur opean Parliament and of the Council of 
September 2003 on genetically modified food and feed  
 -  Regulation (EC) No 1830/2003 of the Eur opean Parliament and of the Council of 
September 2003 concerning the traceability a nd labelling of genetically modified 
organisms and the traceability of food and feed products produced from genetically 
modified organisms and am ending Directive 2001/18/EC 
-  
GM foods: safety assessment of genetically m odified foos.2005-Food standards Australia New 
Zealand  
-  Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity