Our food safety also depends on the new GMO regulation

By: Trademagazin Date: 2023. 07. 04. 11:50

In the near future, the European Union will discuss gene technology rules, the draft of which is expected to be presented by the European Commission on July 5, 2023. Based on the information learned so far, the professional organizations view the process critically.

The main question is whether plants created with new genetic technologies (NGT) will escape the scope of GMO regulation, and whether the update of the GMO law will give multinational companies an untenable advantage in plant breeding. The Ecological Agricultural Research Institute (ÖMKi) as a member organization of IFOAM Organics Europe (European Association of Organic Farmers) supports the resolution that the association recently issued, formulating the common expectations of the organic sector in relation to the new regulation.

IFOAM Organics Europe (European Association of Organic Farmers) issued a resolution at its June general meeting that organic agricultural production must remain free of genetic modification, including so-called new genetic technologies (New Genomic Techniques/NGT). The actuality of the resolution is given by the fact that the European Commission is expected to present its proposal on the regulation of new genetic technologies on July 5. Based on the leaked material, it appears that the Commission would completely remove most NGTs from the current regulation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), paving the way for them to be marketed without tracking and labeling.