July 29, 2010

 

EU authorises import of new GM corn varieties

 

 

The European Commission on Wednesday (Jul 28) gave the green light for the import of six genetically modified (GM) corn varieties to the bloc, another sign of its desire to speed decision-making on the controversial technology.

 

The commission, the executive arm of the EU, granted the approvals unilaterally after EU farm ministers failed to reach a decision on the applications in June. The approvals, which are valid for 10 years, cover imports for food and animal feed, not for cultivation.

 

Last month, the commission proposed an overhaul of the bloc's rules on the cultivation of modified organisms, which if approved would allow member states to decide whether to allow or prohibit such crops in their territories.

 

The proposals followed a commitment last year from the commission's president, José Manuel Barroso, to give member states greater power in cultivation decisions in a bid to break a deadlock between EU governments on the issue.

 

In June, the commission told EU governments that failure to approve the varieties could lead to a repeat of last year's disruption to animal feed imports.

 

The commission has said it will propose a small tolerance margin for unapproved material in imports later this year, but until then the only solution is for the Union to approve varieties individually for import.

 

One of the decisions renewed previous EU approval for the insect-resistant Bt11 corn - developed by the Swiss-based biotech company Syngenta - which expired in 2007.

 

The other five covered new approvals for so-called "stacked" corn varieties, developed by combining existing insect- and herbicide-resistant biotech varieties together with using conventional plant breeding techniques.

 

One of the five was also developed by Syngenta; two were developed jointly by subsidiaries of the US chemical companies DuPont and Dow Chemical; and a further two were developed by Monsanto.

Video >

Follow Us

FacebookTwitterLinkedIn