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Brussels, Belgium
September 19, 2003
Agence Europe via
Agnet
September 19/03
The European Commission intends to modify
existing legislation on seed in order to introduce a tolerance
threshold for "accidental or technically unavoidable" GMOs in
traditional or organic seed.
In compliance with the opinion of the
plants scientific committee, this threshold will be located in
the 0.3%-0.7% band according to the kind of seed, "either a
level that is necessarily lower than the 0.9% threshold
established in July by the Council and Parliament in the
regulations on traceability and labelling of foodstuffs and
animal feed that contain GMOs", explained Beate Gminder,
spokesperson for Commissioner David Byrne (Health
and Consumer Protection Directorate-General).
The date for this Commission initiative
has not been set. It will come into being after the permanent
committee on seed has reached decisions on these thresholds
(next meeting on 22 September).
The decision will be made concrete by a
technical modification of the directive on the purity of seed
and directives on colza, potato seeds, soya and corn. |
