New proposal for Regulation

If the proposal is adopted by the European Parliament, we will be facing a much-needed modernisation of the mutagenesis techniques used in our crops today. The classic mutagenesis techniques result in a very large number of mutations randomly spread across the genome of the plant. In some cases, one of these mutations could be used to improve the plant. The rest of the mutations are so-called “off-target” mutations, which at best are irrelevant. In the worst case and often, they are directly harmful to the plant. The strength of for instance CRISPR/Cas is that you can induce exactly the mutation you want without all the other “off target” mutations. Clearly, a huge step forward.

With the new proposal, plants that meet a clearly defined set of criteria regarding how the plant must be mutated can grow freely in our fields without further sanctions other than being labelled as seed. What kind of criteria do they have to meet and are they strict? The proposal divides plants produced through NGT into Categories 1 and 2. In the latter category, the plants will be GMOs under the existing Directive (2001/18/EC or Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003). Category 1 plants will be exempted from this regulation because mutations under this category could result from conventional breeding or by natural mutation. Plants categorised under Category 1 will have a range of mutations that will not be directly detectable, and thus they do not differ from current conventionally bred plants. A regulation will therefore not be reliably enforceable. A Category 1 NGT plant is to be considered equivalent to conventional plants if it does not differ from the recipient/parent plant by more than 20 genetic modifications defined in a special annex. If you look at the requirement for a maximum of 20 genetic modifications, the requirements are actually very strict. This should be seen in the context of what we have been doing for many years through random mutagenesis, namely to induce thousands of mutations randomly in the genome without any documentation of their effect being required. But we are pleased with the proposal. In the Section for Crop Genetics and Biotechnology we welcome the new proposal. We have carried out research in using the new techniques for a number of years, and through our research we have seen how results achieved through NGT can play a direct role in the ambitions of a green transition, reduced emissions and pesticide consumption and the production of high-quality crops.  

Find more about the proposal here:

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