An announcement issued recently by the Indian Government’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has stipulated that every food package containing genetically modified food must, as of January, 2013, bear at the top of its display panel, the words 'GM.' This new ruling will give Indian consumers the right to know whether the packaged food that they are buying contains genetically modified organisms bringing India up to date with Russia, China, Brazil, and 49 other major industrialized nations in requiring GMO labelling. In contrast, the US and Canada are conspicuous in not requiring such disclosure or protection, even though food labels are required to list more than 3,000 ingredients. But a similar labelling debate is brewing in the US: last month, nearly 1 million signatures were delivered to county registrars in California calling for a referendum on the labelling of genetically engineered foods. If the measure, to be on a state-wide ballot by November 2012, is passed, California will become the first US state to require that GM foods be labelled on the package. Polls show that 90% of Americans believe they have a right to know whether the food they eat contains GMOs, which leads commentators to assume that corporate efforts to continue to refuse to label are futile. Currently, in the US, about 70% of packaged food products contain traces of GM crops, since ingredients such as corn, soya and canola oil are genetically modified. In Europe, only 5% of food sold contain GM traces as the EU operates a 'zero tolerance' policy that bans any imported food from containing even traces of GM substances.