§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the Canadian regulatory system for novel crops in respect of the environmental impact of such crops in his review of the regulatory process in the United Kingdom. [82070]
§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 27 April 1999]: My officials are able to discuss the regulatory approach of other OECD countries through the OECD Expert Group on the Harmonisation of Regulatory Oversight in Biotechnology. The aim of this Group is to improve the harmonisation of regulatory approaches to the assessment of products in order to avoid trade barriers. The Government have asked the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE) to consider the relative benefits of the process based and product based regulatory systems with respect to herbicide tolerant crops as set out in my answer of 24 May 1999, Official Report, columns 5–6.