L'Avaluació científica dels riscos associats als organismes modificats genèticament a Europa

Authors

  • Josep M. Casacuberta

Abstract

The first transgenic plants obtained in 1983 opened up the possibility of using transgenics in plant and animal breeding. The nature of these powerful techniques made necessary a specific legislation ensuring that only GMOs that had undergone risk analysis could be eligible for commercialization. European GMO legislation is based on the precautionary principle and requires the safety of these products to be analyzed to an unprecedented level of detail. These analyses refer in particular to their toxic or allergenic potential, their nutritional capacity as food and feed products, as well as their potential risk for the environment. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) performs the risk assessment, but the decision for commercialization approval belongs to the Member States and the European Commission. Although the European GMO legislation has been shown to work adequately, its complexity, long time frames, and the political implications of new GMO approvals has prompted some stakeholders to propose possible modifications. In this paper we review the European GMO legislation, the risk assessment process, the weak points of the GMO approval process, and the modifications that are being discussed at this time.

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Published

2011-01-19