An Oireachtas committee has agreed to request additional information on new genomic techniques (NGTs) before deciding on its position on an EU proposal to establish a regulatory framework for NGT plants.
A proposal by the European Commission for an adapted framework for safe NGT plants “benefitting farmers, consumers and the environment,” is currently being scrutinised by the Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Ireland’s position on the proposal has been “one of support”, according to the head of crops policy, evaluation and certification division at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Dr. Barry O’Reilly.
This position, Dr. O’Reilly told the committee, has been informed by a number of factors, including the scientific opinion from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) that NGTs plants are “as safe as conventionally bred plants”.
Dr. O’Reilly also told committee members that Ireland’s position on the commission’s proposal takes the outcome of a national public consultation conducted by the DAFM into account which, he said, “showed strong support for the proposal”.
Committee member, Senator Victor Boyhan criticised that the committee has not been provided with the EFSA report or a summary of the public consultation conducted in September 2023 and thus requested the DAFM to provide those.
The committee agreed to wait until the information requested by the senator has been received in order to make a decision on the proposal, which will then be dealt with at the next private meeting, Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy Jackie Cahill said.
Providing some detail of the outcomes of the public consultation to the committee, Dr. O’Reilly said 62 responses were received by the DAFM, including from 22 farmers, to the public consultation of which over 90% were in favour of NGTs legislation.
New genomic techniques
NGTs are technologies that can alter the genetic material of an organism and which have been developed over the past two decades, according to the European Commission.
“They allow precise and efficient development of improved plant varieties that can be climate resilient, pest resistant, require less fertilisers and pesticides, or ensure higher yields,” according to the commission.
New genomic techniques did not yet exist in 2001 when the EU legislation on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) was adopted. Thus, plants obtained by NGTs are currently subject to the same rules as GMOs.
To “better reflect” the different risk profiles of NGT plants, the proposal made by the European Commission in July 2023 creates two distinct pathways for NGT plants to be placed on the market:
- NGT plants that could also occur naturally or by conventional breeding will be subject to a verification procedure, based on criteria set in the proposal;
- These are treated like conventional plants and therefore exempted from the requirements of the GMO legislation. No risk assessment has to be made and they can be labelled in the same way as conventional plants;
- For all other NGT plants, the requirements of the current GMO legislation would apply.
- These are subject to risk assessments and can only be put on the market following an authorisation procedure, subject to the traceability and labelling requirements of the current GMO framework.
The NGTs subject to the proposal are targeted mutagenesis and cisgenesis:
- Targeted mutagenesis induces mutations in the genome without insertion of foreign genetic material (e.g. changes are made within the same plant species);
- Cisgenesis is an insertion of genetic material into a recipient organism from a donor that is sexually compatible with the recipient organism (e.g. changes are made between naturally compatible plants).
Plants obtained by NGTs that introduce genetic material from a non-crossable species are not included. Such techniques remain subject to the existing GMO legislation.
NGT plants will be prohibited in organic production. Dr. O’Reilly said that in the public consultation, the organic sector held the view that they do not want NGTs as they are not in line with the public perception of what people “expect” from organic food.
The next step in the legislative process is the trilogue between the commission, the European Parliament and the Council. However, this process will not begin until after the EU elections next month, Dr. O’Reilly told the committee.