March 20, 2008

France maintains ban on GM corn strain

A group of French farmers had failed to overturn a government ban on a GM corn strain MON810 on Wednesday.

The state council of France rejected the bid from nine producers, including a corn producer association that is supported by Monsanto Co., the company that produces the GM corn strain MON810.

MON810 was officially banned in February after a watchdog authority submitted a report that stated its doubts about the GM crop, even though the report itself was controversial among the scientists who compiled it.

France's Provisional High Authority on GM Organisms said there are some new scientific facts relating to negative impacts on flora and fauna. The state council further said that the ban is justifiable due to possible public health concerns.

France had used an EU safeguard clause that allows an EU member state authority to ban a GM crop - provided it has scientific evidence to back the decision ¨C to ban MON810.

France had also proposed to replace the EU's system for authorizing GM crops with tougher standards, taking into account a wide range of environmental and safety considerations.

Last year, 22,000-hectares of land were sown with MON810, less than 1 percent of corn acreage in France.

The final ruling will be issued at a later date.