PHOTO: WIKIMEDIA
PHOTO: HENK RISWICK
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Three more GMO crops authorised for EU import
The difference this makes to the EU feed industry and what’s ahead.
BY TREENA HEIN G
enetically-modified, or GM, crops are being used to a small extent in the EU feed industry, but that may change in the future, especially due to the war in Ukraine. Here’s a brief look at some new de-
velopments and what developments may be ahead. On March 31, the European Commission authorised three more genetically modified varieties of several crops – soy- bean, oilseed rape and cotton – for import and subsequent
Bouxin: “There could be new interest in importing non-GM cottonseed/meal with the war in Ukraine and the difficulties involved in importing non-GM sunflower meal.”
20 ▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 30, No. 5, 2022
use in food products and animal feed. The agency also re- newed the authorisation of another GM cotton variety for the same purposes. The authorisations are valid for ten years, and any products produced from these crops are subject to the EU’s strict labelling and traceability rules. On May 25, the EC also authorized two more varieties/hybrids of GM crops, one maize and one soybean, for import for food/ feed use. In August 2021, seven varieties/hybrids (three maize, two soybean, one oilseed rape, and one cotton) were also similarly authorised, and three more (two maize and one oilseed rape) received renewed authorisations. The European Commission (EC), when asked for comment, noted that there are currently 283 GMOs authorised for im- port to be used in food/feed. Only one GM crop (a maize called MON 810) is authorised for cultivation (and food/feed use), and it has been grown in the EU since as far back as 2008. In terms of the impact of new approvals in the European feed industry, Arnaud Bouxin (deputy secretary general at FEFAC, the association of the European compound feed & premix industry) predicts none in the near future. Looking to the long term, however, he can provide a few spe- cifics about use of these crops and others – both GM and non-GM – in EU feed. For the new approved soybean variety, GMB151, he says seed multiplication will just start now, so delivery to the EU may not take place before 2023. When asked about the overall GM soybean import picture, the EC stated that there are only estimated figures from 2016 availa- ble, from a working document on GMO commodities; out of
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