Biotech Updates

ACRE's Opinion on Syngenta's GMO Corn Application

April 3, 2009

United Kingdom's Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE) has released it opinion regarding Syngenta's application for the approval of its herbicide-tolerant corn, GA21, for cultivation in the European Union. According to ACRE, the transgenic maize variety is as safe as its non-GM counterparts with respect to its potential effects on the environment. The GM maize is engineered to express the EPSPS protein, an enzyme responsible for tolerance to glyphosate herbicides.

The agency however noted that there are potential impacts on biodiversity associated with cultivation, management and harvesting techniques of this GM maize. ACRE is particularly concerned about the potential impact on farmland biodiversity of the proposed herbicide regimes that will be used in association with GA21.

The European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) last year concluded that GA21 does not pose any risk to human and animal health.

Read the complete article at http://www.coextra.eu/country_reports/news1376_en.html