EFSA confirms that Category 1 NGT plants do not present any additional hazards and risks compared to plants resulting from conventional breeding techniques. Euroseeds has welcomed the EFSA's findings, emphasizing that discriminatory regulatory approaches for conventional-like NGT-derived plants and the resulting products are unwarranted and against the science.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) presented its Scientific opinion on the ANSES analysis of Annex I of the EC proposal1 to the Envi Committee in the EU Parliament. The report concludes that the available scientific literature shows that plants containing the types and numbers of genetic modifications as to the criteria suggested in the Commission proposal do exist as the result of spontaneous mutations or random mutagenesis and with this are suitable to establish equivalence with conventional breeding.
The EFSA has therefore reiterated that it is scientifically justified to consider category 1 NGT plants equivalent to conventionally bred plants concerning the similarity of genetic modifications and the similarity of potential risks. EFSA's new report is in line with previous EFSA reports and adds to the BE Superior Health Council report on the NGT proposal, the German ZKBS, and Dutch COGEM reports which all confirm the scientific justification of the equivalence criteria and with that the non-discriminatory regulatory approach for conventional-like NGTs in the EC proposal.
Petra Jorasch, Euroseeds Manager Plant Breeding Innovation Advocacy, states that "the European seed sector welcomes EFSA's scientific assessment. This new EFSA report as well as all the other reports and respective scientific literature should be taken up quickly by our policymakers to finally adopt evidence-based regulations for conventional-like NGT plants. Any GMO-like approach would unfairly discriminate against these safe innovations and hold Europe's scientists, breeders, and farmers at a competitive disadvantage."
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