EFSA Refute France's Justification for Ban on GM Maize Variety

In 2008, France banned the the strain MON 810, but this was overturned by a French court in 2011. Citing risks to environmental health, French Agricultural Minister Bruno Le Maire in March 2012 reinstated a ban against this variety of GM maize. 

Following a request of the European Commission, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) evaluated documentation submitted by France in support of its request for the prohibition of marketing the genetically modified maize MON 810 under Article 34 of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003. The EFSA GMO Panel notes that some publications referred to by France were already part of the submission package by France for its safeguard clause and emergency measure on maize MON 810 in 2008. Those publications were addressed previously by the EFSA GMO Panel in its 2008 Scientific Opinion on the safeguard clause and emergency measure notified by France on maize MON 810. 

In the remaining documentation provided by France, the EFSA GMO Panel could not identify any new science-based evidence indicating that maize MON 810 cultivation in the EU poses a significant and imminent risk to the human and animal health or the environment. With regard to issues related to management and monitoring of maize MON 810, the EFSA GMO Panel refers to its recent recommendations for management and monitoring measures of maize MON 810. 

In conclusion, the EFSA GMO Panel considers that, based on the documentation submitted by France, there is no specific scientific evidence, in terms of risk to human and animal health or the environment, that would support the notification of an emergency measure under Article 34 of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 and that would invalidate its previous risk assessments of maize MON 810. The EFSA report is available here.