EU Commission wants to allow GE maize SmartStax Monsanto´s genetically engineered maize produces six different insecticides 3. June 2013 Munich/Brussels On 10 June, the EU Commission and representatives from EU Member States are set to discuss and probably vote on the market authorisation of the genetically engineered maize SmartStax for use in food and feed. SmartStax is a joint Monsanto and Dow AgroSciences product that produces six insecticidal proteins and is tolerant to two herbicides. Although dossiers from the industry showed substantial flaws its market authorisation was viewed favourably by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in 2010. For example, combinatorial effects between the insecticidal toxins and the residues from spraying were never investigated. So far, SmartStax is not authorised for sale on the EU market. In December 2012, Testbiotech raised the alarm warning that the maize might have already entered the market illegally. Instead of stopping imports, the Commission is now pressing ahead by trying to force a decision through allowing SmartStax for use in food and feed. “This is a serious violation of consumers´ interests”, says Christoph Then for Testbiotech. “EU Commissioner Tonio Borg should think about whose interests he is acting in. Monsanto has only just announced that it will no longer file applications for new genetically engineered plants in the EU, so why is this plant that produces multiple toxins about to be allowed in food and feed?” Read more: testbiotech.de/en/node/817
Posted on: Wed, 05 Jun 2013 13:16:01 +0000
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