OILSEED RAPE growers have been warned they must ensure crops moved off farm this season comply with the latest GM traceability regulations .

Some loads are being moved off farm with incorrect paperwork, and growers who ignore the new rules risk loads being rejected, said the National Farmers Union.

Since April 18 2004, the GM Food and Feed traceability regulations ((EC) no. 1829/2003 and (EC) no. 1830/2003) state that it is a legal requirement for all food and feed containing >0.9% fully approved GM material to be labelled as so.

Grain passports now contain a declaration stating that the load is not subject to the GM labelling requirements – i.e. does not contain any GM material.

It is the grower‘s responsibility to ensure that they are using up to date copies of the passport to avoid creating problems further down the line, warned Paul Ibbott, Chief Arable Advisor to the NFU.

“If rapeseed arrives at mills without the correct declarations it runs the risk of being rejected,” he said.

“At the very least additional transport costs are incurred as the lorry is held pending the correct paperwork being sought from the producer.”

Although at present there are no fully approved GM OSR varieties in Europe, producers using both farm saved and certified seed need to ensure the integrity of every load leaving the farm.

Before accepting the declaration, growers must be sure that the crop is free from any GM material, either through cross pollination, GM volunteers, or accidental mixing during storage or handling.

If there is any doubt, producers are encouraged to carry out GM testing.

• You can download the  new grain passport which includes the GM declaration as an MS Word document right here on FWi.