May 16, 2003

The UK Food Standards Agency has written to UK Trade Associations and importers of foods from countries that grow GM crops to remind them of their responsibility to carry out appropriate checks
for the possible presence of non-EU authorised GM varieties in food produce imported into Europe.

The Agency was informed that a consignment of brown mustard seed from the Canadian 2002 harvest, imported into France from Canada, has been discovered to contain low levels of seed from three varieties of GM oilseed rape: Roundup Ready, Liberty Link and Seed Link.

While the oil from these three varieties of GM oilseed rape is licensed by the EU for food use, approval for the use of the seed from the GM oilseed was not sought.

Safety assessments have been carried out on the oil and the seed of these three varieties of GM oilseed rape and as a result the FSA does not consider that GM oilseed rape seed would present a health risk to consumers.

The Agency does not consider the presence of the GM oilseed rape seed in mustard to present a health risk.

The level of GM oilseed rape seed present in the mustard seed is approximately 0.0018-0.003%.

The Agency is seeking further information from the French authorities as to whether any mustard products have been made in France from the contaminated mustard seed and then imported into the UK.

If this were the case, they would only contain extremely low levels of GM oilseed rape seed.

Background

There is potential for contamination of mustard seed with oilseed rape seed through storage elevators and shipment containers.

A consignment of mustard seed can legally contain up to 1% oilseed rape seed.

In 2001, approximately 61% of Canadian oilseed rape was genetically modified.

It is estimated that 60,000 tonnes of Canadian mustard seed for food use will be imported into the EU in 2002/3.

The UK Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes and an equivalent German food safety advisory body carried out the safety assessment.