Midday Express, 20 October 2009
The Commission will transmit to the Council a proposal to authorise genetically modified (GM) maize after Member States representatives were not able to endorse it today during a meeting of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH). The Commission presented today to SCoFCAH the proposal for the authorisation of GM maize MIR604, for import and processing and food and feed uses. Member States did not adopt an opinion, either for or against the proposal, during the SCoFCAH meeting. The Commission tabled the proposal following an application submitted by Syngenta and a favourable scientific assessment 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. As a result of today's inconclusive vote, the Commission must now transmit the dossier to the Council for a decision. If the Council does not reach a position, the proposal will be sent back to the Commission for final adoption.
For more information, see: http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/biotechnology/index_en.htm