Brussels, Belgium
October 10, 2007
On 10 October, the Standing
Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health returned no
definitive opinion either for or against European Commission
proposals to authorise 3 genetically modified maize varieties
(for food and feed, import and processing) and a GM potato (for
feed and adventitious presence in food and feed).
As a result, the Commission must now transmit the dossiers to
Council. If the Council does not reach a position within the
months, the proposals will be sent back to the Commission for
final adoption.
The proposals to authorise the 4 GMOs are based on favourable
scientific assessments from the European Food Safety Authority,
which addressed all safety concerns and found there to be no
risk to human or animal health or to the environment from these
products.
The 3 maize varieties in question - Mon863xNK603, Mon863xMon810
and Mon863xMon810xNK603 - are resulting from the combination, by
conventional breeding, of genetic modifications that are already
authorised. The proposal is to authorise them for food and feed
use and for import and processing, but not for cultivation.
The GM potato – EH92-527-1 also called "Amflora" - which the
Commission is proposing to authorise is genetically modified for
a higher starch yield, and would be used primarily for
industrial purposes. The by-products from the industrial process
would also be allowed to be used as animal feed. The GM potato
would not be authorised for food use but a 0.9% tolerance for
adventitious presence is foreseen.
A separate Decision on the authorisation of this potato for
cultivation is to be taken by the Commission under the framework
of Directive 2001/18/EC. The authorisations would be valid for
10 years, and any products produced from these GMOs would be
subject to the EU's strict labelling and traceability rules.
For more information, see
http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/biotechnology/index_en.htm
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