Biotech Updates

EU Member States Fail to Agree on GM Maize and Potato Approval

October 12, 2007

European Union’s (EU) Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health failed to return a definite opinion whether to disapprove or allow the release of three genetically modified (GM) maize (Mon863xNK603, Mon863xMon810 and Mon863xMon810xNK603) and a GM potato (EH92-527-1/Amflora) in Europe. Under the EU laws, the dossiers will now be transferred to the Council. If the Council does not reach a position within months, the proposals will be sent back to the Commission, the body that authored the proposal, for final adoption.

If approved by the Commission, the GM maize lines will be for feed and food use and for import and processing but not for cultivation. On the other hand, the GM potato will be used mainly for industrial starch production. The by-products from the industrial process would also be allowed to be used as animal feed. It will not be authorized for food use, although a 0.9 percent tolerance for adventitious presence is foreseen.

The GM maize varieties are modified to resist pests such as the rootworm and the European corn borer as well as the herbicide RoundupReady. BASF’s GM potato on the other hand is designed to yield high amounts of starch. The proposals to authorize the GM crops are based on favorable assessments by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). EFSA’s scientific assessment found that these GM crops posses no risk to human or animal health or to the environment.

Read more at http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/biotechnology/index_en.htm