Commission Midday Express, 23 July 2009
The Commission will transmit to the Council three proposals to authorise three different genetically modified (GM) maize after Member States did not manage to reach qualified majority today during a meeting of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH).
The Commission presented today to SCoFCAH the proposals for the authorisation of GM maize MON88017, GM maize MON89034 and GM maize 59122xNK603, for import and processing and food and feed uses. The Commission tabled the proposals following three applications submitted by Monsanto (MON88017 and MON89034) or Pioneer (59122xNK603) and favourable scientific assessments from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which addressed all safety concerns. EFSA concluded that there is no risk to human or animal health or to the environment. Member States returned no definitive opinion for both files, either for or against the proposal, during the SCoFCAH meeting. According to the relevant procedures, the Commission must now transmit the dossiers to the Council for a decision. If the Council does not reach a position, the proposals will be sent back to the Commission for final adoption.
For more information, see: http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/biotechnology/index_en.htm