Genetically Modified Foods (Hansard, 16 June 1999)

§ Joan Ruddock
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the antibiotic marker genes, and the antibiotics to which they convey resistance, that have been used in the genetic modification of crops from which genetically modified foods available in the United Kingdom have been produced. [86318]

§ Mr. Rooker
Of the GM foods available in the UK, the npt II gene which confers resistance to kanamycin is present in the tomatoes used to produce tomato paste, but is not detectable in the paste itself. There are no ARMs in Monsanto's GM soya bean. The GM maize developed by Ciba Geigy (now Novartis) contains the ampr gene, which confers resistance to ampicillin, although the gene is degraded and thus no longer capable of functioning when processed into food ingredients.

§ Joan Ruddock
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what food safety tests were carried out on Monsanto's genetically modified Round-up Ready soya bean after spraying with Round-up herbicide; what was the nature of the tests; what data has been supplied 193W by Monsanto; and on what date the information was supplied; [86320]
(2) what tests have been conducted to assess the safety of feeding genetically modified Round-up Ready soya beans to animals; who conducted the tests and when; and what data has been supplied on the feeding of Round-up Ready soya bean following spraying of the crop with Round-up. [86319]

§ Mr. Rooker
The Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes considered data provided by Monsanto on its genetically modified Round-up Ready soya bean, including that obtained from feeding studies on animals, over the period 1994–96. The information that was assessed also encompassed the results of proximate analysis, including an analysis of phytoestrogen levels, on seeds obtained from field trials of GM soya which had been treated with the herbicide Round-up.

§ Mr. Baker
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if all foods on sale which contain genetically modified soya beans have had those soya beans subject to safety testing after being sprayed with the herbicide they are designed to resist; and if he will make a statement. [86747]

§ Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 15 June 1999]Yes. In 1996, the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes considered data supplied by Monsanto on its genetically modified Round-up Ready soya bean after spraying with Round-up herbicide and, contrary to recent reports in the press, found that levels of phytoestrogen were comparable to those in conventional soya beans. The data have been deposited in the British Library (SUP No.11093).