In This
Issue:
CropBiotech
Update Feedback Form
Help
us improve the Crop Biotech Update. Send us your feedback
by accomplishing this very short questionnaire (Click
here)
|
LABELING OF
PROCESSED GM FOOD PRODUCTS IN THE EU
The
European Union (EU) published this month a new regulation on the
traceability and labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
(Regulation No. 1830/2003). The new labeling rules does not apply
to foods containing no more than 0.9 percent of GM ingredients,
or if the presence of such ingredients cannot be avoided.
Novel
foods that contain or were produced from GMOs, on the other hand,
require that characteristics such as: composition, nutritional
value, and health implications be specified on their food labels.
Regarding
traceability, operators who market food products must indicate
which food ingredient or additive was produced from GMOs. In cases
where there is no list of ingredients available, the product labels
should indicate that the processed food contains GMO ingredients
or additives.
In line
with this development, the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service also distributed, just recently,
a report on the specific labeling requirements for processed GMO
foods in the EU.
The
document from the Official Journal of the European Union can be
downloaded at http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/archive/2003/l_26820031018en.html and
at
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/pri/en/oj/dat/2003/l_268/l_26820031018en00240028.pdf.
A summarized
version from the USDA is also available at
http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200310/145986500.pdf.
HEALTH BENEFITS
SWAY CONSUMER PREFERENCES FOR GM
US consumers
may be willing to pay the premium price for genetically modified
(GM) food – that is, if they are told of the potential health
benefits of such foods. These were the findings of Jayson Lusk,
Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics from Purdue University.
Lusk conducted a survey to assess how much consumers in the United
States were willing to pay for GM food – in this case, a
GM food called “golden rice.”
According
to Lusk, consumers were willing to pay more for golden rice compared
to a non-GM white rice, if they perceive that they would be directly
benefiting from such a product. Lusk also added that these perceptions
were basically the same regardless of differences in the respondents’ socio-demographic
characteristics (age, gender, income level, and educational attainment).
In this
study, Lusk provided background information about golden rice,
emphasizing on its direct benefits to consumers, such as improved
nutritional quality and enhanced shelf life. Lusk believes that
these background information was the key factor that convinced
the respondents to be more acceptable of the GM food.
Email
Jayson Lusk at jlusk@purdue.edu for
more details.
EUROPABIO: STOP
DELAY REACTION ON SEED DIRECTIVE
EuropaBio, an association of bioindustries in Europe, has asked the European
Commission to stop further delay on the proposals to provide a harmonized approach
in the European Union (EU) on the question of seed purity thresholds for trace
amounts of approved genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in non-GM seed. It
protested the Commission’s decision to postpone deliberation on the matter
which will further delay the implementation of the seed directive.
EuropaBio
claims that despite industry insistence that an effective internal
market requires clear EU-wide rules on seed thresholds, no action
has been made. The delay will expose the agriculture industry and
individual farmers to unacceptable legal uncertainty. All of the
products in question, says EuropaBio, have been fully approved
for cultivation following assessments by the EU and all Member
States for safety to human health and the environment.
For more information contact A. Farrelly of EuropaBio at this email address:
a.farrelly@europabio.org or
visit their site at http://www.europabio.org.
BIOTECH REGULATIONS
IN CROATIA
The
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural
Service recently distributed a report on the current regulatory
environment for biotechnology in Croatia. These laws aim to regulate
the importation, cultivation and marketing of biotech crops and
food within the country. Environment and consumer protection are
the major provisions of these laws. Concerns on traceability, and
the labeling of biotech products were also addressed.
With
regards to biotechnology issues, the “Law on Protection of
Nature” is considered the overarching law. Together with
the provisions of the Food Law, this legislation regulates the
importation, transshipment, production, usage, and sale of products
of agricultural biotechnology that are meant to be used for food,
feed and seed.
Some
of the provisions of the regulatory framework are still to be implemented,
thus the effectiveness of the entire process in actual practice
is yet to be seen. The report is available at http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200310/145986487.pdf.
KOREA AIMS TO
BE ONE OF TOP COUNTRIES IN BIOTECH
The
Korean government is giving full support to the country’s
goal of becoming one of the top developed countries in biotechnology.
It is supporting an initiative called the 21st Century Frontier
Research Programme which will fund biotechnology and robotics at
about $100 million for 20 years. This was forwarded by Sang-Ki
Rhee, chief research scientist at the Korea Research Institute
of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Seoul, Korea.
In an
article entitled “Challenges and Opportunities for Biotechnology
Development: the Korean Experiences” published in the Asian
Biotechnology and Development Review Vol. 5, No. 3, 2003), Sang-Ki
Rhee said that the main research areas in biotechnology will be:
- Functional
analysis of humans, microbial and crop genomes
- Biodiversity
of indigenous plants
- Stem
cell biology and therapeutic applications
- Proteomics
research
- High
throughput screening of novel compounds for bioregulators using
structural biology and pharmacogenomics
Features
of the biotech program include more foreign collaboration and the
designation of a single leader to take charge of each project who
will have a free hand to allocate resources. In the previous biotech
program, the central government selected and managed subprojects
directly but did not hold anyone accountable for overall direction
of the research.
For
more articles in the Asian Biotechnology and Development Review,
email
sachin@ris.org.in.
BIOTECH: A
CASE FOR INSTITUTIONAL REFORM IN INDIA
Biotechnology
in India presents a unique and pressing case for institutional
reform in agricultural technology generation and agricultural policy.
Institutional and organizational change has to be instituted in
the National Agricultural Research System in India to enhance its
evaluation capabilities in biotechnology research. So says Rajeshwari
Raina, scientist at the National Institute of Science, Technology
and Development Studies in New Delhi.
Raina
called for the process of decentralization and democratic participation
of stakeholders in research decision making. “Stakeholder
participation and local political accountability, in both agricultural
science decisions and in policy actions, especially in the arena
of biotechnology is a necessity for the survival of agricultural
science,” he added.
Hence,
Raina avered that biotechnology must be viewed as “a new
input in agricultural research systems that can help make the transition
from “conventional productionism to sustainable agriculture.”
For
other articles in the Asian Biotechnology and Development Review,
email
sachin@ris.org.in.
UM TO SEQUENCE
LEGUME GENOME
The University of Minnesota has received a grant from the National Science
Foundation (NSF) for a multi-institution initiative to sequence the genome
of the model legume Medicago truncatula. Medicago provides an experimental
system to study agriculturally important legumes like soybeans, mungbeans,
chickpeas, cowpeas, and lentils. These crops are a major source of protein
for people in developing countries.
Lead
researcher Nevin Young from the university's College of Agricultural,
Food and Environmental Sciences says that "Legumes are responsible
for a majority of the biologically generated nitrogen in the world,
especially in agriculture. We need to have a complete inventory
of the genes and gene products."
The
sequence for the nitrogen fixing bacteria has already been determined.
The Medicago sequence will be valuable for research in a number
of fields including future crop improvement. It is also expected
to speed the development of new scientific tools for legume research
such as DNA microarrays.
For
more information on the project, contact Nevin Young at neviny@umn.edu or
visit http://www.plpa.agri.umn.edu/~neviny/labsite/labhome.html.
CANADA TO POST
BIOTECH REGULATORY ASSESSMENTS
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Health Canada are conducting
a pilot project to post information on the Internet about the safety assessments
of biotechnology-derived crops, livestock feeds, and foods. This is the first
time in Canada that the public will be notified of new biotechnology crop,
feed, and food product submissions under review by the government.
Member
companies of CropLife Canada, the trade association representing
developers of biotechnology-derived plant products for use in agriculture,
will provide the information for Canadians in the form of a "notice
of submission", which will be posted on the CFIA Web site.
The public can make comments on products being assessed to either
regulatory bodies (the CFIA or Health Canada) through the CFIA
Web site.
The
safety assessments will be posted at this site: http://www.inspection.gc.ca.
| 
