News

At the beginning of January 2023, the Anses published its comments on the environmental monitoring report on the cultivation of transgenic maize Mon810 in Spain and Portugal in 2021. Authorised for cultivation in the European Union since 1998, Mon810 transgenic maize produced by Bayer (since its acquisition of Monsanto) is subject to annual environmental monitoring […]

There are eleven bacteria, 22 yeasts, one endophytic fungus (living symbiotically inside plants) and one micro-algae. These 35 micro-organisms identified by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) are either in the pre-commercialization phase or, in the case of a minority, already on the market. They have been genetically modified via protocols using new genetic modification […]

Since its publication on 5 July 2023, the proposal to deregulate GMOs/NGTs has come up against significant opposition from many stakeholders. Farmers’, environmentalists’, farmers’, processors’ and consumers’ organisations, as well as supporters of organic farming, are mobilising to ensure that the proposal is rejected or at least amended. On 11 January 2023, the European Coordination […]

The latest news on patents covering “biotechnological inventions”, particularly GMOs/NTGs, reminds us that these legal tools are above all long and complex texts. Yet the content of these texts determines the scope of these patents. In addition to a general description of the invention, including its industrial applications, a patent must describe one or more […]

Since September 2023, Member States and MEPs have been discussing the GMO deregulation proposal presented by the European Commission (EC) on July 5, point by point. In these discussions, the scientific basis of the proposed rules should be one of the points of attention. On this subject, the report by French experts of the Anses […]

Does the European Commission master all the scientific jargon used in its proposed deregulation of GMOs? Are the multinationals trying to take advantage of the complexity of the scientific concepts involved to get more than they bargain for? The European legislator, whether a Member State government or an MEP, is, like most citizens, unaware of […]

Four industrial groups dominate the market for genetically modified micro-organisms. Of the 272 applications filed that strictly concern GMMs, 173 (64%) are from :– Novozymes (54 applications + 4 via its subsidiary Chr. Hansen) ; – DSM (42 cases + 1 via Biomin GmbH + 1 via Avansya, a joint venture between DSM and Cargill) ; – Danisco/IFF […]

Four industrial groups dominate the market for genetically modified micro-organisms. Of the 272 applications filed that strictly concern GMMs, 173 (64%) are from :– Novozymes (54 applications + 4 via its subsidiary Chr. Hansen) ;– DSM (42 cases + 1 via Biomin GmbH + 1 via Avansya, a joint venture between DSM and Cargill) ;– Danisco/IFF (40 cases […]

On June 14 2022, the European Commission met with PivotBio. This US company markets genetically modified microorganisms (GMMs) to « convert atmospheric nitrogen and deliver it to crops ». During the meeting, PivotBio explained that these microorganisms are modified « by conventional mutagenesis or by genome editing ». But it does not wish to market them in Europe « since […]