§ Mr. BreedTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the scientific steering committee will next meet to decide locations for the farm scale evaluations of genetically modified crops. [66170]
§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 2 July 2002]: The Scientific Steering Committee considered the proposed locations of the next round of farm-scale evaluations, autumn-sown oil seed rape, by correspondence. The SSC's formal advice has been published on their web-site as previously they deliberated at length the criteria for selection during several early meetings. By the time of this year's selection, however, the process has become efficient enough to be confidently agreed by correspondence without the need for everyone to travel to a meeting.
§ Mr. BreedTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of GM crops authorised for commercial use in the United States her Department has DNA samples of; and if she will make a statement. [71253]
§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 19 July 2002]: The Department does not hold samples of GM crops authorised for commercial use in the in the United States. GM crops are only permitted to be imported into EU countries if they also have consent under EU directive 90/220/EEC on the deliberate release of genetically modified organisms to the the environment. Importers must ensure that grain and seed imports have the necessary authorisation. DEFRA's GM inspectorate at the Central Scientific Laboratory (CSL) carry out audits to check compliance. CSL has the capability to perform tests 248W to check for unauthorised GM presence as necessary. The tests look for non-specific DNA sequences that are characteristic of the genetic modification process.