Geneticaly modified Food and Feed – current situation in EU Petr Beneš Food Safety Department Prague, 9 October 2009

Geneticaly modified Food and Feed – current situation in EU

Petr Beneš

Food Safety Department

Prague, 9 October 2009

Content

• Role of the Food Safety Department

• Legislation

• Authorisation process

• Actual information

Definition of GM Food and Feed

• Food containing, consisting or produced from GMO´s

• Feed containing, consisting or produced from GMO´s

Food Safety Department

• Administration of applications

• Participation in SCoFCAH meetings

• Scientific Committee on GM food and feed

Legal framework

• by April 2004 Directive 2001/18/EC

• Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the EP and of the Council

• Regulation (EC) No 1830/2003 of the EPand of the Council

Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the EP and of the Council

• valid since April 18, 2004• covers use of GMO´s for food and feed• sets up centralized authorisation procedure• sets up labeling requirements and limits for

adventitious or technically unavoidable presence of genetically modified materials in a food or feed


• valid since April 18, 2004• covers use of GMO´s for food and feed• sets up centralized authorisation procedure• sets up labeling requirements and limits for


Authorisation procedure

Who participates in Authorisation of Applications?

- European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)

- EU member states (MS)

- European Commission (EC)

„GM food and feed should only be authorised for placing on the Community market after a scientific evaluation of the highest possible standard, to be undertaken under the

responsibility of the European Food Safety Authority, of any risks which they present for human and animal health

and, as the case may be, for the environment.“

Point (9), Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003

European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)

Standing Committee on Food Chain and Animal Welfare

• All MS express their positions during voting• Qualified majority must be achieved in favour /

against the draft Commission Decision• If no qualified majority is achieved, the draft is

submitted to the Council for decision• If no decision is adopted by the Council, the

Commission is authorised to make the decision

National Competent Authority

European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)• risk assessment• final opinion

Application according No 1829/2003

Comunity Reference Laboratory (CRL)

European Net of GMO laboratories (ENGL)• method validation

European Commision• draft decision• different decision against EFSA´s must be explained

Standing Committee on Food Chain and Animal Health• member countries• qualified majority (QM)

Council of Ministers• 90 days for decision (SCoFCAH without QM)

Approval / disapproval of Application

6 months for validation

3 months

6 months

QM

without QM

without Q

M

3 months

decision

decision

EU member countries• consultation

3 months

Public• comments

30 days

Official Journal Register of GM food and feed

Support of GM food and feed – current situation in EU

Positions of some MS reflect political situation…X

The main criterium for EC decision making is the result of the scientific risk assessment

Support of GM food and feed – current situation in EU

Bulgaria Czech Republic EstoniaFinlandNetherlands Slovakia UK Spain Sweden

CyprusLuxemburg HungaryPolandAustriaGreece Malta Slovenia


• valid since 18. April 2004• covers GMO usage in food and feed• sets up centralized authorisation procedure • sets up labeling requirements and limits for


Labeling of products with GMO´s

a) the content of GM parts is less than 0,9 %

- only in case the presence is adventitious or technically unavoidable

X

b) wilful added GM parts

Labeling of foods of animal origin obtained in animals fed by GM feed?

NO!

- NO labeling requirements for milk, meat, eggs... etc.

- NO traceability requirements applicable


• harmonized framework for the traceability• transmission of written information between

operators• holding of information (5 years from each

transaction)• labeling requirements

+ Commission Regulation (EC) No 65/2004• inspection and control measures

Any source of GMO unique identifiers?

• development of the unique identifiers according to Commission Regulation (EC) No 65/2004

• BioTrack database (OECD)http://www2.oecd.org/biotech/byIdentifier.aspx

Up to date number of applications

• 72 applications presented at 30. 9. 2009• 60 % applications on maize• applications presented by (only) seven

countries: NL, UK, DE, FR, CZ, BE, DK

Community register of GM products

Publicly available on European Commission web pages:

http://ec.europa.eu/food/dyna/gm_register/index_en.cfm

Community register of GM products


Presently 27 products:

– 12x GM maize– 6x GM cotton– 3x GM rape– 2x GM yeast, bacteria– 3x GM soya– 1x GM sugar beat

Products withdrawn from the market

• GM rape hybrids - Ms1xRf1, Ms1xRf2, Topas 19/2,

• GM maize hybrids - Bt176, GA21xMON810


Asynchronous release of GM food and feed

• different duration and demandingness of authorisation process in EU and third countries

• „zero tolerance“ of presence of non-authorised GMO´s in feed

= source of problems

GM maize cultivation – current situation in EU

GM maize is cultivated in:

Spain, Czech republic, Portugal, Slovakia, Romania

National bans on cultivaton:

Germany, Austria, France, Greece, Hungary, Lucemburg

Information on GMO

• Ministry of Agriculture web pages (in CZ only)– www.mze.cz - section „Zemědělská výroba“ –

category „GMO-geneticky modifikované organismy v zemědělství“

– www.mze.cz - section „Potravinářská výroba“ – category „Bezpečnost potravin“ – „Geneticky modifikované potraviny a krmiva“

• Ministry of Environment web pages:– www.mzp.cz/en - section „Environmental Risks“ –

category „GMO“

Thank you for your attention!

[email protected]

Documents

Geneticaly modified Food and Feed – current situation in EU Petr Beneš Food Safety Department Prague, 9 October 2009