Brussels, Belgium
March 21, 2007
European Commission proposals to
withdraw from the market five GMOs, which have been allowed to
be sold in the EU up to now, were endorsed by the Standing
Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health on 20 March. The
five GMOs are Bt176 maize, GA21xMON810 maize, Ms1Rf1 oil seed
rape, Ms1Rf2 oil seed rape and Topas 19/2 oil seed rape.
Under the GM food and feed
Regulation 1829/2003, any GM products that were legally on the
market before the Regulation entered into force could continue
to be marketed until 18 April 2007. However, if the companies
responsible for these GMOs wanted to continue marketing them in
the EU after that date, they had to submit an application to the
Commission.
For the five GMOs affected by
these decisions, no applications for renewal are expected. This
is due to the fact that they are no longer being used, and the
companies no longer have any commercial interest in them.
Moreover, according to information provided to the Commission,
all stocks of food and feed derived from these GMOs have been
used up. However, there is the possibility that some food and
feed products on the market may still contain trace amounts of
these GMOs.
Accordingly, the Commission
proposals require the respective companies to identify and
withdraw seeds of any of these GMOs from the market. Recognising
that this cannot be done overnight, however, a 0.9% adventitious
presence of these five GMOs will be allowed in food and feed
products for the next five years.
The decisions will now be formally
adopted by the Commission and will enter into force by the end
of April.
For more information, see:
http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/biotechnology/gmfood/index_en.htm |
