EFSA Scientific Opinion Calls for Modernised Protein Assessment of GMOs

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) has called for an update to the principles and guidelines established two decades ago for the protein assessment of GMOs. The Scientific Opinion highlights the growing complexity of GM products and the limitations of the current international guidelines.

The Panel recommends an improved strategy for protein safety assessment that integrates the history of safe use (HoSU), read-across, and phylogeny; adopts advanced in silico tools; standardizes in vitro gastrointestinal models; evaluates the roles of exposure; and uses post-market monitoring. The GMO Panel noted that although the weight-of-evidence approach is the best strategy to assess newly expressed proteins (NEPs), it must be strengthened with new tools and methodologies to improve the risk assessment.

The GMO Panel said that modernizing the current strategy will require stakeholder and expert dialogue and consensus on the use of new methodologies in the safety assessment. The Panel also said that the updated strategy will be aligned with the European Commission's roadmap for reducing animal testing. The Panel concludes that a consensus on the definition of HoSU and integration of new methodologies into the safety assessment of NEPs is needed to meet global demands for safer, healthier, and more sustainable food and feed products.

For more information, read the abstract from EFSA or the Scientific Opinion in the EFSA Journal.