Written question asked by David Drew (Labour) on Tuesday, 1 November 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 3 November 2005. It was answered by Caroline Flint (Labour) on Monday, 21 November 2005 on behalf of the Department of Health.

GM Crops

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recommendations she made regarding GM Maize—GA21 prior to its submission to the EU regulatory authority.

Answer: An application for authorisation of products derived from GA21 maize was made to the Dutch authorities in 1998 under the novel foods regulation (EC) No. 258/97. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is the UK Competent Authority under the novel foods regulation and seeks expert advice on the safety of Genetically Modified foods from the independent Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP).The dossier on GA21 maize was reviewed by the ACNFP during 2000. They identified certain shortcomings in the available data and its advice formed the basis of the United Kingdom's objection to the initial assessment report from the Dutch Competent Authority. These shortcomings, and questions raised by other member states, were addressed by Monsanto in a supplementary dossier that they provided to the EC Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) for further assessment. The SCF concluded in March 2002 that GA21 maize is as safe as conventional, non-GM maize.As the supplementary data and the SCF evaluation answered the ACNFP's initial questions, the FSA has advised Ministers that GA21 maize meets the necessary criteria for authorisation. The UK therefore voted in favour when European Union member states voted on the authorisation of GA21 maize in April and October of this year.

Secondary information