EU Agency Says French GMO Maize Ban Unjustified
FRANCE: November 3, 2008
PARIS - Europe's top food safety agency said on Friday that France's ban on
a genetically-modified maize developed by US biotech giant Monsanto was
unjustified.
Monsanto's MON 810 is the only GM crop grown in the European Union, unlike
in the United States and Latin America, where they are more common. Many
European countries doubt the safety of using the genetic technology in
agriculture.
"No specific scientific evidence, in terms of risk to human and animal
health and the environment, was provided that would justify the invocation
of a safeguard clause," the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) said in an
opinion released on its website. The EFSA is based in Parma, Italy.
France suspended the use of MON 810 earlier this year, invoking a so-called
safeguard clause against the European Commission's decision to authorise the
GM maize.
The French government said it had serious doubts about whether Mon 810 maize
was safe for the environment.
However, the cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMO) has
remained legal. The European Commission, which monitors food safety and
implementation of EU food standards across the bloc's 27 member countries,
had requested the opinion from the EFSA.
The Commission will consider the opinion and will very likely order France
to lift its ban, diplomats said.
If the Commission did order removal of the ban and France chose to oppose
it, it could provide more information to justify the ban or appeal the
decision at the European Court of Justice.
France is the European Union's main agricultural power and its largest
exporter of farm products. Its GMO ban has drawn criticism from interest
groups on both sides of the issue.
Polls show that the vast majority of French are opposed to GM crops because
they have not seen enough proof that they do not pose risks to consumers and
the environment.
Monsanto says the protein contained in the maize has selective toxicity but
is harmless to humans, fish and wildlife.
(Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide)
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
|