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Brussels, Belgium
May 19, 2004
Today, the EU
Commission approved a genetically modified sweet corn (Bt-11)
for food use in the European Union, which is the first GM food
product to be approved in Europe since 1998. This sweet corn is
genetically modified to protect itself from corn borer insect
damage (1).
"The Commission's
decision to finally approve this biotech sweet corn is a welcome
move and a positive signal for Europe. Today's decision is a
first step by the EU to move ahead with the approval process for
new biotech products under the EU's new regulatory regime for
the authorisation of GM products," says Johan Vanhemelrijck,
Secretary General of
EuropaBio, the European association for bioindustries. "But,
it is only the first step on the road to unblocking the approval
process. We will have to wait to see whether further approvals,
including those for cultivation, are forthcoming."
The biotech sweet
corn is already approved for food use in Argentina, Australia,
Canada, China, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, the Philippines,
Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, Uruguay and the United States
and was first approved in United States and Canada in 1996.
The EU's
Scientific Committee on Food has judged this genetically
enhanced Bt-11 sweet corn to be as safe as conventional sweet
corn. This opinion reflects the views of several other
regulatory authorities worldwide, and the experiences in
countries in which Bt sweet corn is already approved.
(1) The sweet corn
has been developed by Syngenta, a EuropaBio member company
http://www.syngenta.com/en/downloads/Bt_sweet_corn_update_5-04_final.pdf
Updated EuropaBio
fact sheet on Bt 11 (May 2004)
http://www.europabio.org/upload/articles/article_323_EN.doc
EuropaBio, the
European Association for Bioindustries, has 33 corporate members
operating worldwide and 24 national biotechnology associations
representing some 1200 small and medium sized enterprises
involved in research and development, testing, manufacturing and
distribution of biotechnology products. |
