GMO topics

Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) considers the impact on the environment caused by, for example, the introduction of GM plants, the use of certain substances in food, feed and plant protection products, or the introduction and spread of plant pests.

Safe animal feed is important for the health of animals, the environment and for the safety of foods of animal origin. There are many examples of the close link between the safety of animal feed and the foods we eat.

Genetically modified (GM) foods can only be used in the European Union if they have passed a rigorous safety assessment. The procedures for evaluation and authorisation of GM foods are laid down in Regulation (EC) 1829/2003 on GM food and feed, which came into force in April 2004 and in Directive 2001/18/EC on the deliberate release into the environment of GMO’s, which came into force in March 2001.

Genetic modification (GM), also known as “recombinant-DNA technology”, was first applied in the 1970s. It is one of the newest methods to introduce novel traits to micro-organisms, plants and animals. This technology has so far primarily been used in plants for agriculture and in micro-organisms to produce enzymes.