FSA Letter, 28 October 2010

GMOs - October 2010 update on the GM Section of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health

A full copy of the update, including a copy of the Commission's proposal, is available on this site. See: FSA GM Update Letter - October 2010

This update provides information about the draft proposal by the European Commission for a 'technical solution' to the low-level presence of unauthorised GMOs and GM-derived materials in imports of feed commodity crops from outside the European Union.

The proposal is expected to be presented for discussion and a possible vote at a forthcoming meeting of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (GM Section).

Key Proposals

The proposed 'technical solution' would apply to the low-level presence (LLP) of unauthorised GMOs and GM-derived material in two specific instances:

• where a GMO has not yet been approved for use in the EU, but where a valid application for its authorisation has been submitted to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and a quantitative method for its analysis has been validated by the EU Reference Laboratory
• (after 25 April 2012) where an authorisation for a GMO has expired but where a quantitative method for its analysis had been validated by the EU Reference Laboratory.

Responses

The proposal is due to be discussed at a meeting of member states and the Commission on Monday 15 November 2010. It would therefore be helpful to receive comments no later than Friday 12 November 2010. Please state, in your response, whether you are responding as a private individual or on behalf of an organisation or company (including details of any stakeholders your organisation represents).