Byrne plans tough regime to allay GM fears

Date: 05/10/00

By Renee CORDES

Producers of genetically-modified ingredients for animal feed would have to clear a series of strict regulatory hurdles to get their products onto the EU market under plans being drawn up by the European Commission.

Consumer chief David Byrne will propose a new regime under which biotechnology companies would have to go through tough authorisation procedures before they could sell GM soya, maize and other crops to farmers for use in animal feed.

Products already on the market and authorised under existing EU laws would have to be reviewed. Initial authorisations would be limited to ten years and the Commission would be able to force products off the market if evidence emerged of potential dangers to human or animal health.

New labelling requirements would also be introduced, the use of antibiotic-resistant genes would be phased out by 2004, and only crops which could be properly monitored would be authorised.

A Brussels lawyer working for the biotechnology industry claimed the planned rules could be a nightmare for companies across the EU since they would not result in a complete harmonisation of member states' legislation. He added that the authorisation requirement would delay companies' efforts to get their products onto the market.

Environmental and consumer groups have welcomed Byrne's approach, although they fear his proposals do not go far enough to keep dangerous products off the market. "Overall it is quite positive," said Lorenzo Consoli, spokesman for Greenpeace International. However, he voiced concern that potentially harmful materials could still fall through the cracks if the plan is approved as it stands.

Byrne's proposals would, for example, grant member states a number of exemptions and feed ingredients would not be covered by the labelling requirements if the GM content fell below a certain threshhold. Consoli insists that this threshhold must be as low as possible and not arbitrarily determined by the Commission if the new rules are to have teeth.

The move comes as EU governments, MEPs and the Commission try to hammer out a compromise on planned changes to the 90/220 directive, which lays down rules governing the deliberate release of GMOs into the environment.

Member states, led by France, are still resisting the Union executive's attempts to lift a two-year de facto moratorium on licensing GMOs, arguing that it should remain in place until clear rules have been drawn up to make producers liable for any damage caused to human health or the environment. Their reluctance to lift the ban, which the Commission argues is illegal, has been prompted by a series of recent incidents in which farmers found themselves unwittingly growing GM produce after their crops were contaminated with GM seeds.

The producers of genetically-modified ingredients for animal feed would have to clear a series of strict regulatory hurdles to get their products onto the EU market under plans being drawn up by the European Commission.