GMO UPDATE: EU, UK, GERMANY, GLOFISH

Commission delays decision on GM maize, moves on regulations

The European Commission has postponed its decision on the approval of transgenic maize (Syngenta's Bt-11), thereby further delaying the lifting of the five-year de facto moratorium on the approvals of new genetically modified organisms (GMO) in the EU. The Commission is now expected to discuss the issue on 28 January. Following the failure of the European Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health at its December 2003 meeting to reach a qualified majority required for approving the GM maize, the decision has now been transferred to the Commission (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 12 December 2003). If approval is given, member states have three months to take a decision.

As part of its efforts to finalise the EU labelling and traceability regulations, the Commission has adopted draft regulations for establishing a system to identify GMOs. The system would assign a 'unique identifier' composed of letters and digits to each GMO approved for use in the EU. Operators must provide documentation listing the codes of the GMOs that were used to constitute the original raw material for products intended for food, feed or processing. In its notification to the WTO (G/TBT/N/EEC/44), the EU stressed that the system followed OECD guidelines and took account of identification requirements under the Biosafety Protocol. The new EU regulations, which enter into force in April, continue to attract widespread criticism from Europe's trading partners. The Argentine government is currently looking for support among other countries, including the US, for challenging the rules at the WTO.

UK, Germany reassessing their positions on biotech

The UK Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE) on 14 January released its advice on implications of the GM crop farm-scale evaluation results, published in October last year. While not making specific recommendations on the commercial release of GM crops in the UK, the Committee notes that herbicide-tolerant GM maize did not have a harmful effect on biodiversity compared with conventional maize varieties. Regarding transgenic beet and oilseed rape, ACRE points to adverse effects on arable weed populations. However, the Committee stresses that such negative impacts were a result of herbicide management, not the genetic modification itself.

The ACRE advice comes as part of an extensive process of public consultation, scientific assessment and socio-economic analysis on the future of biotechnology in the UK. Based on the results, the government is expected to make a decision on the commercial release of GM crops in the country within the next six weeks. According to news reports, the government is expected to approve only GM maize, for one season and under strict conditions, in an effort to strike a balance between responding to public concerns and not abandoning GM technology. In the European Council, the UK has so far taken a more favourable approach to biotechnology, supporting the approval of Bt-11 and the greater flexibility to manage co-existence.

Germany, which in the past had been one of strongest supporters of the de facto moratorium, appears to be moving towards a more lenient position, signalling that the government expects approvals to resume in the near future. Nevertheless, Consumer Protection and Agriculture Minister Renate Künast insisted that she would continue to support the possibility of GM-free areas in Germany. Moreover, releases of GMOs would be governed by strict rules on co-existence, currently being discussed in the German Parliament, which would set minimum distances for GM crops and make GMO farmers liable for contamination.

GloFish making waves in the US

A coalition of environmental and food safety groups led by the US-based Center for Food Safety (CSF) has initiated a lawsuit against the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for not regulating the GloFish -- a fish genetically engineered to glow red which has gone on sale as an ornamental fish in the US. The group is calling for sales of the fish to be suspended until government regulations are in place. "It's clear this sets a precedent for genetically engineered animals," said Joseph Mendelson, CSF's legal director. "It opens the dams to a whole host of non-food genetically engineered organisms." In December last year, the FDA had announced its intention to not regulate the fish, arguing that it was not used for food purposes. The fish had originally been developed in Singapore to monitor water quality.

"EU Commission postpones decision on GM maize," REUTERS, 14 January 2004; "GM corn to be approved for one year only," INDEPENDENT, 19 January 2004; "Germany sees biotech foods advancing," AP, 16 January 2004; "Germany: Farmers to be liable for GMO pollution," EURACTIV, 13 January 2004; "Lawsuit seeks to dim glowing fish," BBC, 15 January 2004; "GloFish draw suit," THE SCIENTIST, 7 January 2004.