EU food industry pushes for transparency in gene editing regulations
In a joint open letter to EU farming ministers and handed over today to Dr István Nagy, Hungary's minister of agriculture and current president of the EU Council for Agriculture and Fisheries, the signatories outline the critical need for clear and enforceable guidelines in relation to crops derived from new genomic techniques (NGTs).
The organic and non-GMO industries in particular see their existence threatened by the regulation and have expressed this in the open letter. Among the signatories are the REWE Group, the third largest food retailer in the EU, and the organic supermarket chain, Biocoop.
The signatory companies welcome the labelling and traceability requirements for all products derived from NGTs called for by the EU Parliament in February. They are calling on the EU Council of Agriculture Ministers to adopt this position.
Representatives from the EU’s feed, oilseed crushing, and grain trade industries—specifically FEFAC, FEDIOL, and COCERAL— have raised concerns about such requirements, warning that mandatory labelling could blur the lines between NGTs that are similar to conventional varieties and those classified as GMOs, potentially stalling technological adoption and confusing consumers.
Trilogue discussions halted
Negotiations on NGTs continue at the EU level, but the process has hit a roadblock. The Council of Agriculture Ministers has yet to reach a consensus, delaying the start of trilogue discussions between the EU Commission, the EU Parliament, and the Council.
This delay comes despite the EU Parliament’s February vote backing the establishment of two distinct categories for plants developed using NGTs: NGT 1 plants, which would be treated like conventional plants and exempt from GMO regulations, and NGT 2 plants, which would still face stricter oversight.
The road to NGT deregulation
The EU Commission introduced its proposal for a new regulation on plants produced by certain new genomic techniques in July 2023, saying the move was part of a package of measures aimed at strengthening the resilience of EU food systems and farming.
Farmers and breeders need access to state of the art innovation, according to the EU executive.
“NGTs are innovative tools that help increase the sustainability and resilience of our food system. They allow developing improved plant varieties that are climate resilient, pest resistant, that require less fertilizers and pesticides and can ensure higher yields, helping to cut the use and risk of chemical pesticides in half, and reducing the EUs dependency on agricultural imports.”
The proposal came at the end of a long process started in July 2018 with the ruling of the European Court of Justice determining that organisms created through NGTs needed to be regulated as GMOs and covered by the EU’s current GMO Directive of 2001. After a study from the EC concluded that the GMO Directive is not “fit for purpose” for these newer products, a legislative initiative was started on September 24, 2021.
Detection methods
In addition to the labelling and traceability requirements, to guarantee "freedom of choice and to ensure fair competition" in the European food industry, the signatories to the letter published today also demand additional measures.
They insist that companies seeking to introduce NGTs to the EU market should be required to provide detection methods, reference materials, and genetic modification data during the authorization process. The letter also calls for a legally binding, EU-wide framework to enforce coexistence measures, which they claim would protect agriculture and the food industry from NGT "contamination".
Heinz Kaiser, managing director, agriculture/production/logistics, Schwarzwaldmilch, comments: "As a medium-sized dairy, we have been working with our more than 800 dairy farmers to ensure that our product range is GMO-free for decades. The EU Commission's deregulation plans are threatening the existence of the company because they jeopardize the coexistence of production systems 'with and without genetic engineering.' We need binding national and regionally adapted coexistence measures for fair competition."
Furthermore, the signatories advocate for national bans on the cultivation of both category 1 and 2 NGTs, emphasizing that member states should retain the authority to make decisions on NGT cultivation within their territories.
They also argue that companies introducing new technologies should be responsible for the associated risks and costs, following the "polluter pays" principle. This approach would prevent the unfair burden of exclusion costs from falling on producers of conventional or organic products, they believe.
The open letter to Dr Nagy and EU ag ministers is an initiative by German companies Alb-Gold Teigwaren, Alnatura, Andechser Molkerei Scheitz, Milchwerke Berchtesgadener Land, dm-drogerie markt, and Frosta Tiefkühlkost. Supporters include VLOG, ENGA, Bioland, AöL, and BNN.
EFSA disagrees with French authorities on NGT risk profile
Relaxing the rules around NGTs remains a contentious issue, with endorsement from the feed and biotech industries but ongoing resistance from the organic farming and non-GMO lobby.
European national agencies, including the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES), have also been raising concerns about the potential risks that NGTs could pose.
In late 2023, ANSES recommended that products derived from NGTs should be evaluated for health and environmental risks on a “case-by-case basis” before being granted market authorization. This approach contrasts with the EU's draft law, which broadly categorizes NGT products into two groups.
The French agency argued that the risks associated with NGTs are comparable to those identified for plants created through transgenesis, the process used to produce GMOs.
However, in July this year, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published its evaluation of the ANSES review and reached a different conclusion. EFSA found that plants derived from Category 1 NGTs are equivalent to conventional plants and do not present additional risks. The EU food and feed risk assessor's opinion was requested by the EU Parliament in February 2024.
The French agency had argued that the criteria used to consider Category 1 NGT crops as equivalent to their conventional counterparts had "no scientific basis."
But the EFSA GMO Panel concluded: "The available scientific literature shows that plants containing the types and numbers of genetic modifications used as criteria to identify category 1 NGT plants in the EU Commission proposal do exist as the result of spontaneous mutations or random mutagenesis.
"Therefore, it is scientifically justified to consider category 1 NGT plants as equivalent to conventionally bred plants with respect to the similarity of genetic modifications and the similarity of potential risks.
"The EFSA GMO Panel did not identify any additional hazards and risks associated with the use of NGTs compared to conventional breeding."
