§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the approved buffer zone is between GM crop trial plantations and non-GM crops; on what basis it was arrived at; and what equivalent buffer zone is in use in other EU countries where GM crop trials are taking place. [43036]
§ Margaret Beckett[holding answer 14 March 2002]: There is no single approved buffer zone between GM crop trials and non-GM crops. The conditions governing each trial, including the separation distance between GM plants and other crops, are determined on a case-by-case basis and set out in each consent.
The basis for the size and nature of the buffer zone on other conditions is to restrict the impact of the GM crop on the environment. The distances are dependent on the reproductive characteristics of the GM crop, the nature of the modification and whether any alternative form of risk management is in operation (eg flower removal, pollen barrier).
These distances are set after consultation with the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE), the Government's statutory advisory committee on matters relating to the release of GMOs to the environment, which examines all applications for GM trials. ACRE advises on the basis of the best scientific evidence available and experience gained from previous releases and, for example, by the seeds industry in the use of separation distances to secure specific levels of seed purity amongst conventionally bred plant varieties.
The legislation governing GM crop trials derives from European Union directives, so similar principles are followed in other EU countries.