EFSA: Category 1 NGT Plants Equivalent to Conventional Breeding

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has confirmed that Category 1 NGT (new genomic techniques) plants present no additional hazards compared to those produced through conventional breeding.

In a report presented to the European Union's Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (Envi Committee), EFSA concluded that genetic modifications in NGT plants align with those found in conventionally bred plants, justifying their equivalence. The report aligns with previous assessments from EFSA and other European bodies, according to a press release from Euroseeds.

Euroseeds welcomed the findings, calling discriminatory regulations for NGT-derived plants unjustified and contrary to scientific evidence. Petra Jorasch, Euroseeds' Manager for Plant Breeding Innovation Advocacy, said, "This new EFSA report as well as all the other reports and respective scientific literature should be taken up quickly by our policy makers to finally adopt evidence-based regulations for conventional-like NGT plants. Any GMO-like approach would unfairly discriminate against these safe innovations and hold Europe's scientists, breeders and farmers in a competitive disadvantage.”

For more details, read the news article in SeedWorld.