Admixture of GM and non-GM crops at import. Overwiew, insight and supervision

Every year, the area of genetically modified (GM) crops worldwide increases. The use of GM crops in food, feed and industry increases as well. Unfortunately, recently some incidents have been reported in which crops or products unintentionally get mixed with (un)authorized GM crops or products. In the EU, the political decision-making on GMOs stagnated, with the result that GMOs are not (yet) authorized in the EU while authorized in other parts of the world. This creates a large gap between the GMOs authorized in the EU and those authorized outside the EU, specifically the Americas.

The Dutch authorities want freedom of choice for their citizens and environmental safety. For this reason they want to prevent admixture. In this project, executed by Schuttelaar & Partners, the supply chains of three crops of which GM varieties are available or are under development have been characterized: potato, maize and rice. The researchers also visited the Rotterdam harbor to see a grain warehouse at work, and studied three cases of admixture: Bt10 maize, Herculex maize and LLRICE601 rice. The research report project provides an overview of the supply chains and the issues relevant for the prevention of admixture.