HC Deb 16 December 1996 vol 287 cc459-60W
Mr. Steen

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to protect public health regarding the increased use of imported soya which has been genetically engineered; and if he will make a statement. [8959]

Mr. Horam

Ministers are advised on the safety of foods and ingredients obtained from genetically modified—GM—organisms by an independent committee of experts, the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes. The ACNFP assessed the imported GM soya beans developed by Monsanto in 1994 and concluded that they were toxicologically and nutritionally equivalent to, and therefore as safe as, conventional soya beans.