Draft proposals issued for GM seeds

9 December 1999



Draft proposals issued for GM seeds

By FWi staff

DRAFT proposals aimed regulating the introduction of genetically modified varieties to the National Seed List have been issued for consultation.

The government wants all GM varieties to have marketing consent before being accepted on to the list. It has also been suggested GM varieties should be labelled.

The decision follows a legal challenge after the government agreed earlier to GM varieties being classed as “certified” for sale while still being tested.

Environmentalists had claimed that the origin plan would have speeded up the commercialisation process, allowing GM crops to enter the market sooner.

Other proposed changes include a requirement that novel food ingredients will be on the list only if they have been authorised under the novel foods regulation.