Food safety chief denies agency has pro-GMO bias

By Martin Banks

Date: 16/12/04

THE head of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has hit back at claims that the agency is biased in favour of the biotechnology industry.

Geoffrey Podger branded the allegations "unsubstantiated" and those who made them as "quite mad".

Podger was responding to claims from Friends of the Earth (FoE) that virtually all of the 12 EFSA opinions so far on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have been favourable to the biotech industry and that some of the agency's scientists have close links with the industry.

Adrian Bebb, anti-GM campaigner for FoE, accused EFSA of "continuously brushing aside" evidence of the potential health effects of GM crops.

"The agency plays a key role in the approval of new GM foods in Europe and needs to be independent from industry but it has clearly made up its mind that GM foods are safe and ignores any evidence or views that question that position," Bebb said.

But Podger, who has a five-year mandate, declared: "That simply is not true. We have looked at all the allegations made by Friends of the Earth and found them to be unsubstantiated.

"I have every confidence in the independence of our experts and simply do not accept such criticism.

"The GM issue is, of course, a very sensitive one but it is quite mad to say that we side with one side or the other. We act neither for lobby groups nor the industry."

The group's allegations were to be discussed at a meeting of the authority's management board today (16 December).

The work of the authority, which has an annual budget of l28 million, will be reviewed by independent consultants next year and Podger hopes its remit will be expanded.

"The review was foreseen from the start and, among other things, it will investigate whether our role should be widened. There is no doubt in my mind that, in its short life, the agency has done what it was set up to do but, personally, I would like to see us able to undertake more wide ranging nutritional studies," he said.

Podger has been head of the authority for nearly two years. EFSA will next month move from its current base in Brussels to its new one in Parma in Italy. He says the move will be completed by the autumn of 2005.

A former head of the UK food safety standards authority, Podger called for staffing levels to be increased "as a matter of urgency".

The agency currently has 120 staff but he said this should rise eventually to between 250 and 300 to cope with its increasing workload.

Podger said: "At present we simply do not have the staff available to do the work.

"It is an uphill struggle. Staff are working very long hours and this is something which needs addressing. We are really looking forward to the move to Italy, our staff want to move there and have received enormous cooperation from the Italian authorities.

"But we would find it very difficult to take on any more responsibility without the necessary staff."

• Five GMOs were evaluated by EFSA;
• four given a positive opinion: GM maize NK 603, oilseed rape GT 73, GM maize MON 863, GM maize 1507;
• opinion on hybrid maize MON 863 x 810 held back pending further data.

Geoffrey Podger, head of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), rejected claims from Friends of the Earth (FoE) that the agency is biased in favour of the biotechnology industry. He branded the allegations 'unsubstantiated' and those who made them as 'quite mad'.