Permanent Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food Carrie Yau Tsang Ka-lai told legislators the government will launch a voluntary labeling scheme for genetically modified food in two to three months' time.

"If it is proven to be ineffective, we don't rule out the possibility of making it mandatory but currently, we won't implement [mandatory measures]," said Yau at a food safety and environmental hygiene panel meeting Tuesday.

Legislators passed a motion urging the government to introduce mandatory labeling for GM food more than six years ago. But Yau told the panel "there is no international consensus on a mandatory labeling system for GM food, except in the EU, and there is no evidence whether GM food affects Hong Kong food safety."

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Democratic legislator and panel chairman Fred Li Wah-ming said he was disappointed with the government's lack of progress. "Hasn't the government heard the voice of Legco yet? Are [food merchants] holding [the government] back?" Li asked.

According to a World Health Organization report, Modern food biotechnology, human health and development: an evidence based study, published in June, "GM foods currently available on the international market have undergone risk assessments and are not likely to present risks for human health in any other form than their conventional counterparts."

Lam Hon-ming, a plant molecular biologist at Chinese University, said Hong Kong's major food safety problems are food poisoning and the lack of nutrition labeling. "Just compare how many Hong Kong people got sick from food poisoning and GM food, then you can see what the priorities should be," Lam said.

Lam said GM food should be examined "case by case" and be based on scientific evidence.

The famous "Golden Rice" created by Swiss scientist Ingo Potrykus containing carotenoid to generate vitamin A, according to Lam, is banned due to campaigns by green groups.

"In developing African and Asian countries, people don't have the luxury of eating different, highly nutritious foods. The provitamin A rice can save many lives, but it is still trapped in the laboratory," Lam said.

Meanwhile, a consultant at the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department told the Legco meeting that citizens should discard moldy buns from the Cheung Chau Bun Festival instead of eating them after peeling off the mould. Ho Yuk-yin said bread molds produce ochratoxin A, a poison that can cause cancer in humans.

Yau said she advised the Hong Kong Cheung Chau Bun Festival Committee that hot buns should not be put in sealed plastic bags before they are cool.