§ Mr. YeoTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his oral statement of 18 May 2000,Official Report, column 473, concerning the absence of modified DNA from oil produced from GM oil seed rape, what assessment he has made of (a) whether modified DNA may be present in animal feed produced from GM oil seed rape and (b) the extent to which the elimination of genetically-modified DNA entails the elimination of other molecules not normally produced in conventional oil seed rape but produced in GM varieties. [124158]
§ Ms StuartI have been asked to reply.
I am advised by the Food Standards Agency that studies on DNA in various commercial materials used in animal feed indicate that DNA is totally degraded in extracted rape seed meal but is present in other rape seed products and by-products. These results are expected to read across 798W to material derived from genetically-modified oilseed rape. When the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes carried out a rigorous safety assessment of the RT 73 GM variety, extensive compositional analysis revealed no significant differences between the GM line and its parental line. This indicates that there are no different molecules in the GM variety.
§ Mr. McWalterTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment his Department has made of the capacity of different forms of genetically-modified crop to render various forms of plant, and the organisms dependent on them extinct. [128696]
§ Mr. MeacherI have been asked to reply.
The Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE) routinely assess the potential of any GMO to render a plant species and other organisms dependent on it extinct, whether through becoming more invasive, toxic to animals or through other means. To date no existing GMOs have been identified with the potential to render other species extinct. ACRE' s remit has recently been extended to take into account effects of the ways that GM crops may be grown on biodiversity, compared to use of equivalent conventional crops. ACRE' s work is augmented by a research programme funded by my Department.