Local councils will have to enforce laws making restaurants, cafes and shops label food containing genetically-modified ingredients.

And businesses which break the European Union regulations will face fines of up to £5,000.

Malcolm Grant, who has owned Grants Restaurant, at Haxby, for 13 years, believes the latest legislation is a case of the Government passing the buck although he believes manufacturers could help by clearly labelling GM foods.

"If genetically modified food is safe, it shouldn't need to be labelled," he said. "And if it isn't safe, they shouldn't be selling it - it's as simple as that.

"I just hope the manufacturers and the wholesalers will be labelling it very clearly - I don't want to be peering at my ingredients with a magnifying glass to see if they are GM or not."

Peter Taylor, owner of the Go Down Restaurant, in Clifford Street, York, for almost four years, said it could cause extra headaches for those in the trade.

"It's early days yet and so we will have to see how it works out," said Mr Taylor.

"We use a lot fresh produce - meat and fish - and our fresh vegetables all come from the EEC so we should not have too much trouble. We use reputable suppliers but it will mean more work having to check all the ingredients on the labels."

Mike Hessey, principal trading standards officer in the City of York Council's food and safety standards unit, said the new rules would place extra duties on officers but he was confident they could deal with them.

He had already spoken to some larger manufacturers in the city and had inquiries from smaller businesses. Officers would initially seek to advise businesses on the information they needed and how to implement the regulations.

"It's a question of liaising with businesses to iron out all the problems so we can get it right first time," he said.

Food Minister Jeff Rooker stressed consumers had a right to know what they were eating.

He said: "The Government is determined that consumers should be able to choose whether or not to eat genetically-modified foods.

"This includes foods sold in restaurants, cafes and take-aways and not just that available from supermarkets."

He stressed the UK was leading the way in Europe on this.

He said there had been consultation on the legislation.

Mr Rooker laid before Parliament yesterday the Food Labelling (Amendment) Regulations 1999 which come into force today.

They require all foods containing genetically-modified soya or maize ingredients to be clearly labelled.

Jack Cunningham, Minister for the Cabinet Office and former Agriculture Minister, said on a visit to York last night that he believed trading standards officers would welcome the new rules rather than seeing them as a burden.

He said the changes would benefit consumers - "It's something the public will welcome."

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