HC Deb 04 November 2003 vol 412 cc565-8W
Andrew George

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the regulatory framework which will need to be put in place for the introduction of GM crops. [135760]

Mr. Morley

There is already a comprehensive regulatory framework for the control of GM crops, with several regulatory approvals being needed before a given crop could be introduced for commercial cultivation.

Under European Directive 2001/18/EC each particular GM crop must be judged on its own merits according to scientific evidence of any risks it may pose to human health or the environment. A person or company wishing to market such a GM crop must supply a detailed dossier of information and a detailed environmental risk assessment on that GM crop. This information is open to scrutiny by all 15 member states and their expert advisers and the European Commission and its expert advisers, and an EU-wide public consultation must be held. No GM crop may be grown commercially unless and until EU member states have agreed collectively that it is safe.

In addition, each GM crop will need approval under EU seeds legislation before it can be grown commercially. Also, any GM crop intended for use with a particular herbicide or pesticide will need approval under EU pesticides legislation. And any GM crop intended to be used as a food will need approval under EU novel foods legislation. Furthermore, from spring 2004 all GM crops and any products derived from them will become subject to comprehensive new EU GM traceability and labelling legislation, which significantly extends the provisions for traceability and labelling already required by Directive 2001/18.

In addition to these regulatory frameworks we will be considering the terms on which GM and non-GM crops might co-exist in the light of a report on this issue expected shortly from the Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission.

Joan Ruddock

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what published research she has assessed on the(a) persistence and (b) invasiveness of (i) GM herbicide tolerant and (ii) other crops in disturbed habitats where herbicides and fertilisers are used; and what research she has commissioned on this subject. [136063]

Mr. Morley

When assessing the potential impact of the release of a GM crop in England the Department is advised by an independent statutory expert body, the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE). In considering each case, ACRE will take account of all available relevant information on the implications of the proposed release.

A large body of research has been published on the persistence and invasiveness of GM (and non-GM) crops and weeds in disturbed, improved and tilled land. This includes Government-commissioned work and work conducted independently of Government. The body of literature was recently reviewed by the GM Science Review Panel as part of the GM Dialogue, and their final report is available at www.gmsciencedebate.org.uk. Section 6.2 of that report specifically refers to the potential persistence and invasiveness of GM crops. This report has been made available to ACRE.

Details of all Defra-commissioned GMO related research work are available on our website at www. defra.gov.uk/environment/gm/research. This includes details of completed projects and links to download or order any published reports. Several of these include a consideration of persistence and invasiveness, including:

'Environmental Risks of Herbicide-Tolerant Oilseed Rape' (March 1999);

'Investigation of Feral Oilseed Rape Populations' (February 1999);

'Monitoring largescale releases of genetically modified crops, incorporating report on project EPG 1/5/30: monitoring releases of genetically modified crop plants' (December 2002);

'Consequences for agriculture of the introduction of GM crops' (October 2003).

A further project investigating aspects of persistence of oilseed rape is currently underway entitled 'Factors affecting cross-pollination in oilseed rape varieties, particularly of low male fertility, growing under typical UK conditions' and due to be completed in 2006.

Andrew George

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research has been(a) commissioned and (b) published about the biochemical implications of introducing genes coding for enzymes under the control of host gene regulation systems; and what the implications are of this in respect of the host GM plant. [136169]

Mr. Morley

[holding answer 3 November 2003]: The Department has not commissioned research into the biochemical implications of introducing genes coding for enzymes under the control of host regulatory elements because it is not relevant to the risk assessment of current GM crop releases. However, there has been a large volume of research commissioned elsewhere, which would inform decision making if this issue became relevant to proposed releases in the future.

The biochemical implications of using regulatory elements will vary in each specific case, and where relevant, would be taken into account by our expert advisers alongside other factors. In general, the use of regulatory elements native to plants will result in lower levels of transgene expression than those derived from bacteria and viruses as used in current GM crops (e.g. 35S cauliflower mosaic virus promoter).

There is a possibility that introducing copies of regulatory elements that are already present in the host plant could result in partial or complete silencing of native genes under the control of these elements. In recent years, there has been a substantial body of high quality research on 'gene silencing'. an issue which is addressed in Chapter 3 of the GM Science Review, published in July 2003 (http://www.gmsciencedebate.org.uk/).

Andrew George

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research has been(a) commissioned and (b) published about the (i) behaviour and (ii) fate in the environment of toxins used in the production of GM insect resistant crops. [136190]

Mr. Morley

[holding answer 3 November 2003]: In July 2001 the Department commissioned research into the "Environmental Impact of Bt Exudates from Roots of Genetically Modified Plants". We expect it to be published early in the new year on: he Defra website. Other publications regarding the issues on the behaviour and fate in the environment of toxins (13t) used in the production of GM insect resistant crops have been considered recently in the GM Science Review, which was published in July 2003. No GM insect resistant crops have been grown or trialed in the UK apart from two small scale research trials involving potato and strawberry plants in the raid-1990s.

Adam Price

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the legal processes relating to the EU directive on the GM contamination threshold for conventional seeds. [135273]

Mr. Morley

The European Commission has decided that the appropriate mechanism for establishing statutory thresholds for the adventitious presence of approved GMOs in conventional seeds would be as follows:

  1. 1. The thresholds would be set, by species, in the Regulatory Committee established under the Directive on the deliberate release into the environment of GMOs (2001/18/EC);
  2. 2. These same thresholds would then be inserted into the seeds marketing Directives by agreement in the Standing Committee on Seeds.

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