Honey and Food Supplements Containing Pollen from GMO

The Court of Justice of the European Union has released is judgment on the case of honey and food supplements containing pollen derived from a GMO. Excerpts from the Court of Justice press release note that:

• A substance such as pollen derived from a variety of genetically modified maize, which has lost its abiliity to reproduce and is totally incapable of transfering the genetic material which it contains, no longer comes within the scope of that concept (foodstuffs produced from GMOs which cannot be marketed without prior authorization)
• Products such as honey and food supplements containing such pollen constitute foodstuffs which contain ingredients produced from GMOs within the meaning of the regulation.
• Authorization scheme for foodstuffs containing ingredients produced from GMOs applies irrespective of whether the pollen is introduced intentionally or adventitiously into the honey.
• The authorization obligation exists irrespective of the proportion of GM material contained in the product in question.

See the Justice of the European Union press release at http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2011-09/cp110079en.pdf