EU publishes legal GM food products list

19/04/05 The European Commission has published a list of 26 genetically modified (GM) products that can be legally sold on the EU market.

These were either approved under former EU legislation or did not require approval at the time they were put on the market.

The so-called 'existing products' - 12 varieties of maize, 6 of oilseed rape, 5 of cotton and one of soybean, one biomass and one yeast cream - were mostly approved before a new EU legislative framework for authorising GM food and feed had entered into effect. The Commission stresses that existing products on the register are subject to the strict labelling and traceability rules for all GMOs under new EU legislation.

The products have been added to a specific section of the Community register of genetically modified (GM) food and feed in order to clarify exactly which GM products are legally permitted to be sold in the EU and to have full information on these products. Since the entry into force of EU Regulation 1829/2003 on GM food and feed in April 2004, all GM products seeking to enter the EU market as food or feed have to undergo a thorough authorisation procedure, including a scientific safety assessment by the European Food Safety Suthority (EFSA). However, there are certain GM food and feed products which can be legally sold in the EU according to EU rules in place before Regulation 1829/2003.

In order to cover these GM products, Regulation 1829/2003 stipulated that operators who wished to continue marketing an 'existing product' had to notify the Commission and submit detailed information on the GMO before 18 October 2004. Non-notified products will no longer be allowed on the EU market.

The Commission, in co-operation with the Joint Research Centre, examined the validity of the notifications it received and agreed to enter 26 GMOs into a specifically created section of the Community register of genetically modified food and feed. Once one of these 'existing products' is on this register, it can legally be sold in the EU for a set period of between 3-9 years, after which it has to resubmit an application for the renewal of the authorisation.

http://www.eubusiness.com/topics/Food/gm.2005-04-18