EFSA Refutes Justification for French Ban on GM Maize
The European Food Safety Authority’s Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms (EFSA GMO Panel) has issued an opinion on the French government’s move to prohibit the planting of a certain GM maize variety, concluding that “there is no specific scientific evidence, in terms of risk to human and animal health or the environment, that would support the notification of an emergency measure under Article 34 of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003.” According to EFSA, which noted that most of the studies cited by French authorities were recycled from a 2008 submission on the same topic, the agency was unable to identify “any new science-based evidence” to support the country’s ongoing ban.
Citing risks to environmental health, French Agricultural Minister Bruno Le Maire in March 2012 reinstated a ban against this particular variety of GM maize after French courts overturned a previous emergency measure. As one spokesperson explained to media sources, however, EU Health Commissioner John Dalli must now consider “how to follow up on this ruling, though technically we could ask France to raise its ban. The commission will wait for the conclusions of the next environment ministers’ meeting June 11 in nLuxembourg and hopes for a positive outcome to its proposals for cultivation, which have been blocked for almost two years by France and others.” See AFP, May 21, 2012.
