John Bruton
Question:116 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Health and Children the genetically modified products currently on sale on the EU market under EU regulation 258/97 concerning novel foods and novel food ingredients. [5996/98]
Written Answers. - Genetically Modified Products.
Regulation (EC) 258/97 came into effect in all member states of the European Union in mid-May 1997 and the Department of Health and Children is the competent authority for its implementation in Ireland. The regulation applies to the placing on the market of novel foods and novel food ingredients. Food and food ingredients which have not hitherto been used for human consumption to a significant degree with the European Union and which contain or are produced from a genetically modified organism fall, inter alia, within its scope.
Regulation (EC) No. 258/97 provides that novel foods and novel food ingredients, if not substantially equivalent to their non-novel counterparts, must undergo a safety assessment and be officially approved and authorised before being placed on the European market. Since it came into force, no product containing or derived from a genetically modified organism has undergone this safety assessment process. However under the regulation certain cetegories of novel foods, including, inter alia, foods derived from but not containing genetically modified organisms, may be placed on the market without this formal safety approval if the food can be shown to be substantially equivalent to its non-novel counter-part as regards its composition, nutritional value, metabolism, intended use and its content of undesirable substances. I am informed by the European Commission that, following a scientific assessment, the competent authorities in the United Kingdom have deemed the six products listed in the following table to be substantially equivalent and the producers have notified the Commission of their intentions to place these products on the market. I understand that three of these products may already be on the European market. The notifications received on 10 December 1997 are in respect of food and food ingredients produced from crops to be harvested in autumn 1998.
Novel Foods Regulations.
Products notified to the European Commission as substantially equivalent.
|
Notifier. |
Description of food or food ingredient. |
Date of Notification. |
|
AgrEvo |
Processed oil from genetically modified canola seed. |
9.6.1997 |
|
Plant Genetic Systems |
Processed oil from genetically modified rape seed. |
10.6.1997 |
|
Monsanto |
Refined oil from genetically modified rape seed. |
10.11.1997 |
|
Monsanto |
Food and food ingredients derived from maize flour, maize gluten, maize semolina, maize starch, maize glucose and maize oil derived from genetically modified maize. |
10.12.1997 |
|
AgrEvo |
Starch and derivatives; crude and refined oil; heat-processed or fermented products obtained from hominys, grits and flour (dry milled fragments) obtained from genetically modified maize. |
10.12.1997 |
|
Novartis |
Food and food ingredients products derived from genetically modified maize and its hybrids. |
10.12.1997 |