General surveillance: Roles and responsibilities the industry view

A General Surveillance plan to monitor for unanticipated adverse effects of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on human health and the environment is required as part of the EU legislation for imported and cultivated GMOs. Imported GM products: Operators involved in the import, handling and processing of grain commodities entering the EU have monitoring procedures in place to survey products and are organised in associations across the EU Member States. They can therefore be considered as the best placed to monitor for potential unanticipated adverse effects linked to imports of GM products into the EU. Recognising this, the Plant Biotechnology Industry has established a collaboration to cover General Surveillance of grain commodity imports with the relevant associations, which is coordinated by EuropaBio, the European Association for Bioindustries. Cultivated GM plants: Monitoring for unanticipated adverse effects should take place in agronomic zones representative of commercial GM crop cultivation. Farmers are therefore considered to be the most valuable sources of information when it comes to General Surveillance of GM crop cultivation, due to their extensive experience with and direct involvement in cultivation. Acknowledging this, the Plant Biotechnology Industry has developed a harmonised general surveillance approach based on farmer questionnaires.