Washington, DC
July 3, 2008
Source:
U.S.
Grains Council Global Update
A monumental decision was taken on
Tuesday by the Codex
Alimentarius Commission. The Commission adopted the
guidelines proposed nearly a year ago on Food Safety Assessment
in Situation of Low-Level Presence of Recombinant-DNA Plant
Material.
The guidelines provide a roadmap to allow countries to arrive at
a tolerable allowance of low-level presence of unapproved
biotech varieties for grains and other products.
“In a lot of export markets there have been very few, if any,
regulatory mechanisms to address the unintentional occurrence of
low-level presence of unapproved biotech events,” said Erick
Erickson, U.S. Grains Council special assistant for planning,
evaluation and projects.
“Without universal science-based guidelines, importers of grains
from the United States have found it difficult to mitigate the
risk associated with the asynchronous approval of biotech events
around the world. With these new guidelines, countries can
choose to move away from their current policies of zero
thresholds for events authorized in one or more countries but
not in the country of import. This development in Codex is
another tool to help improve the free flow of genetically
enhanced grains.”
The Commission was established in 1963 by the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World
Health Organization to serve as the world’s source of developing
internationally acceptable food standards that assist in
avoiding trade disruptions.
Codex Alimentarius Commission
document:
JOINT FAO/WHO FOOD
STANDARDS PROGRAMME
CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION
31st Session
Geneva, Switzerland, 30 June – 4 July 2008
REPORT OF THE SIXTY-FIRST SESSION OF THE
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION
WHO Headquarters, Geneva, 24 – 27 June 2008
ftp://ftp.fao.org/codex/Alinorm08/al3103Ae.pdf
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