CropLife e-News

EU Delays GM Decision

After environmental groups urged the European Union (EU) to reject applications from the biotech industry to approve two corn crops and one newly engineered potato variety, the European Commission delayed its decision.

The delay in the decision on licensing the cultivation of three biotech crops on May 7 raises doubts about whether the EU will open its market to genetically modified foods, according to an Associated Press (AP) report. The applications have been returned to the EU’s food agency, EFSA, for further scientific review.

The agency has already approved the products, but "the Commission has decided to ask EFSA to take another look" after new scientific issues had been raised late last year, Johannes Laitenberger, EU spokesman, tells AP. The Commission will make a final decision based on the evidence, not political or emotional arguments, he adds
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The EU is under pressure from both industry and environmental groups over the applications, with exporters of biotech products -- including the U.S. and Canada -- also watching the decision closely.

The three products include the Bt-11 corn seed, made by Switzerland's Syngenta AG, and the corn 1507, produced by U.S.-based Pioneer Hi-Bred and Dow Agrosciences. Also being considered is Germany's BASF AG's "Amflora" potato, designed to provide starch for industrial uses.

If licensed, the biotech crops would be the first in a decade to be authorized for cultivation within Europe.

(Source: The Associated Press)