Traceability of GM Products

1
Traceability of GM Products
An Enforcement Perspective

• Stuart Musgrove
• Somerset County Council,
• Taunton, UK

2
The Presentation

• GM crops
• The law and law enforcement
• Analytical science
• Elements of a traceability system
• Why they always fail

3
So what characterises GM food?

• DNA modified
• Protein modified
• Soya, maize main crops
• 44.2m hectares planted in 2000
• 52.0m hectares planted in 2001

4
Maize

• Starch, refined oil
• Modified starch, syrups
• Confectionary, sauces, ready meals etc

• Growing plant
• Cobs
• Grains
• Flour, crude maize oil

5
Food Law Enforcement

• Collect evidence
• Analysis
• Documents
• Identify the offence
• Assess defence
• Prosecute someone

6
Standard of Proof

• Scientific opinion
• Reasoned argument
• Peer review
• Criminal Prosecution
• beyond reasonable doubt
• Defence
• balance of probabilities

7
The labelling proposals

• All Ingredients produced from GMOs
• 0.9 threshold for adventitious presence

8
GM Detection Methods

• Qualitative
• - Is it there
• Quantitative
• - How much
• Methods improving for single ingredients at 5
• Performance depends on ability of lab
• Work less well on final product
• Much lower levels
• Imported products

9
Traceability Systems

• What is it ?
• What happens when it moves ?
• What records are needed ?
• How is system audited ?
• Are independent checks possible ?

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Traceability Systems Fail

• Why Money
• How Cheaper products used
• When Long commercial food chains
• Where From producer to consumer
• Who Almost anyone

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Conclusions

• Many GM and non GM food ingredients identical
• Analytical science not yet developed at legal
  limits
• Tracing systems open to fraud
• Enforcement problematical
• Public confidence in legislation ?

12
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