EUROPEAN food safety advisers have declared that Syngenta’s insect and herbicide resistant GM maize, Bt11, is suitable for cultivation in the EU, though it faces considerable delays before it is likely to be grown.

In an opinion issued today (Friday) the European Food Safety Authority concluded that growing Bt11 “will not cause an adverse effect on human or animal health or the environment in the context of its proposed use”.

“No data has emerged to indicate that Bt11 maize is less safe than its conventional counterpart,” it added.

This is the second time that a GM product has been given the all-clear for cultivation by EFSA, following the approval of Pioneer’s 1507 GM maize in March.

That product was due to be considered for a licence by the EU’s regulatory committee this week, but was taken off the agenda at the last minute, without explanation.

It’s not clear when the product will be considered again.

Bt11 sweet maize was granted a license for use in the food chain in May 2004, so ending the EU’s five-year moratorium on new approvals.

It hit the headlines again last month when it was revealed that several hundred tonnes of a similar, but unapproved variety, Bt10, had got mixed up with Bt11 maize in the US, and some of this was shipped to the EU.

In the light of these revelations, EFSA demanded written assurances that Bt10 had not been mixed up with Bt11 in safety studies, before it issued its latest opinion on the cultivation of Bt11.

The product will now join Pioneer’s 1507 maize on the list of products awaiting a license to be grown in the EU.