French health agency report challenges proposed EU rules on gene-edited plants

France’s national health and food safety agency published a report on Wednesday (6 March) recommending that gene-edited plants be assessed “on a case-by-case basis”, calling into question a legal text currently being negotiated in the EU institutions.

The French National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety’s (Anses) study recommended “a global monitoring system” on plants modified with new genomic techniques (NGTs), and “identified several major issues” with the EU’s proposal to relax rules on gene-edited plants.

“Modifying regulations to take account of NGTs involves societal choices, as various economic and societal impacts are also at stake,” the report stated.

In July 2023, the European Commission proposed loosening regulations that apply to advanced biotechnologies that alter crops’ characteristics, such as boosting drought tolerance and pest resistance.

Lawmakers proposed the creation of two categories of NGTs: genetically modified plants that are “indistinguishable” from those obtained through conventional breeding (NGT 1), which would be exempted from the requirements of GMO legislation, and those with “more complex modifications” (NGT 2), which would be subject to stricter rules.

Anses had queried the proposed difference between the two categories in December.

On 7 February, the European Parliament voted in favour of the text on NGTs. The text is currently still under debate in the Council. Member states split on the issue of patents and traceability, EU diplomatic sources told Euractiv.

Political debate on plants’ gene editing resumes amid NGO protests

Political groups in the European Parliament will try to reach a deal on gene editing next Tuesday (16 January), while experts in the Council seek to untangle the controversial points of the legislation and NGOs protest in Brussels.

French government accused of hiding the report

While the report was published on 6 March, it was dated 22 January. According to reporting by the newspaper Le Monde, the government delayed the release of the study to prevent it from influencing European negotiations.

“Rather than blocking the opinions of its health agency, France must firmly oppose the deregulation of these GMOs in the Council of the European Union,” said Nicolas Laarman, General Delegate of the NGO POLLINIS in a press release.

For Claude Gruffat MEP (Greens/EFA), “the Anses opinion on new GMOs, which was due to be published in February (before the vote in the European Parliament), has been blocked as a result of political pressure!”

The government has not yet reacted to these accusations. However, Anses’ relations with the government have been tense for several months now.

In April 2023, for example, Anses recommended banning the herbicide S-metolachlor, despite EFSA having not yet finalised its re-evaluation of the molecule.

Environmental and health risks

The work carried out by the health agency points to several “potential risks” inherent in the genome editing techniques used in NGTs. In terms of human health, it points to a possible “unexpected change in the composition of the plant that could generate nutritional, allergenic or toxicity problems”.

Regarding the environmental impact, the agency notes a risk of “gene flow” towards wild or cultivated populations. This would lead to “changes in interactions with animals (including insects) if plants resulting from directed mutagenesis are eaten or visited”, it adds.

According to ANSES, risks “are similar to those already identified for plants derived from transgenesis”, the technique used to obtain GMOs.

The French health agency therefore recommended that the health and environmental risks of NGT products be assessed “on a case-by-case basis” ahead of market authorisation – a recommendation that contradicts the EU draft law approach based on two categories.

The NGO POLLINIS is calling on the government to take note of the opinion of the health agency and reject the draft regulations at the negotiations currently underway in the Council of the European Union.

MEP Christophe Clergeau (S&D) supported Anses’ request for further assessment of the risks to health and the environment, criticising Renew lead candidate Valerie Hayer and French agriculture minister Marc Fesneau for supporting the draft law as it stands.

European Parliament adopts its position on gene-edited plants

With the clock ticking to reach a deal before the end of the legislature, the European Parliament on Wednesday (7 February) approved its amendments on the new rules for the highly controversial new genomic technologies (NGTs).

[Edited by Angelo Di Mambro/Nathalie Weatherald]

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