4.1.1. Comprehension Questions

1. Has any GE food on the market been tested for safety? From your point of view why it is like this?

2. Why does the author consider the principle of “substantial equivalence” absolutely unreliable?

4.1.2. Key Vocabulary

ENTRY	TRANSLATION	EXAMPLES AND NOTES
grossly adv	грубо, вульгарно; оптовым путем; чрезвычайно	grossly unfair – совершенно несправедливо
superficial adj	поверхностный, неглубокий, внешний	Her injuries were only superficial These are superficial policy changes that help no one
reveal v	открывать, разоблачать; показывать, обнаруживать	reveal sth to sb – открыть что-л. кому-л. Plans for rerouting traffic have been revealed to residents. Neither side revealed what was discussed in the meeting
withdraw v	брать назад, забирать, вынимать; отзывать	withdraw a remark / an objection – взять назад свое замечание, возражение (признать, что оно неверно) withdraw into your shell / a world of your own – закрыться от остального мира
label v	наклеивать ярлыки	label sth with sth – наклеивать некий ярлык на что-то She labels all the video cassettes with the name and date
give rise to sth	способствовать чему-то, вызвать что-то, дать повод к чему-то	The ability to insert a gene into a host DNA gave rise to genetic engineering
implement v	выполнять, осуществлять	Attempts to implement change met with strong opposition
mandatory adj	мандатный; обязательный, принудительный	mandatory for – обязательный для кого-то it is mandatory to do sth – делать что-то обязательно
silence v	заставить молчать; заглушать; не дать кому-л. высказать свое мнение	After about twenty minutes, someone managed to silence the alarm. Efforts to silence opposition have so far been unsuccessful

4.2. Skim the text below and say what its essence is.

The General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) Aims at Ensuring that Only Safe Consumer Products are Sold in the EU A revised GPSD (2001) is applicable as from 15 January 2004. The objectives of the Directive are both to protect consumer health and safety and to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market.

The GPSD is intended to ensure a high level of product safety throughout the EU for consumer products that are not covered by specific sector legislation, e.g. toys, chemicals, cosmetics, machinery, etc. The Directive also complements the provisions of sector legislation which does not cover certain matters, for instance in relation to producers' obligations and the authorities' powers and tasks.

The Directive provides a generic definition of a safe product. Products must comply with this definition. If there are no specific national rules, the safety of a product is assessed in accordance with

• European standards,

• Community technical specifications,

• codes of good practice,

• the state of the art and the expectations of consumers.

Obligations of Producers and Distributors

In addition to the basic requirement to place only safe products on the market, producers must inform consumers of the risks associated with the products they supply. They must take appropriate measures to prevent such risks and be able to trace dangerous products.

The Directive on dangerous imitations prohibits the marketing, import and manufacture of products that look like foodstuffs but that are not edible.

There is universal agreement among experts and policy makers that the lack of data on human exposure to chemicals represents a major bottle neck in the risk assessment process.

Attempts to conduct risk assessments on chemicals present in consumer products such as e.g. toys, textiles, equipment, are confronted by the lack of precise information on the exposure of humans to the chemicals being released (intentionally or unintentionally). However, even moderate expert estimates indicate that chemicals in all type of consumer products are the main source of total human exposure to chemicals.

Source: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers /cons_safe/

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