Questions Regarding the Implementation of EU Mutagenesis Ruling in France

Detlef Bartsch; Ulrich Ehlers; Frank Hartung; Jens Kahrmann; Georg Leggewie; Thorben Sprink; Ralf Wilhelm

doi:10.3389/fpls.2020.584485

Questions Regarding the Implementation of EU Mutagenesis Ruling in France

Front Plant Sci. 2020 Sep 11:11:584485. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2020.584485. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Detlef Bartsch¹, Ulrich Ehlers¹, Frank Hartung², Jens Kahrmann¹, Georg Leggewie¹, Thorben Sprink², Ralf Wilhelm²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Genetic Engineering and other Biotechnological Processes, Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety, Berlin, Germany.
² Institute for Biosafety in Plant Biotechnology, Julius Kühn-Institute, Quedlinburg, Germany.

Abstract

The European Commission has asked EU Member States for comments on a French law notification demanding plant varieties produced with the help of in vitro mutagenesis have to be eliminated from the national catalog of approved varieties because of missing legal authorization deemed required by genetic engineering law. Primary target are herbicide-tolerant Clearfield oilseed rape varieties. The scientific reasoning is questionable, traceability is illusive, and law enforcement is likely to be impossible.

Keywords: Clearfield oilseed rape; European Commission (EC) decisions; mutagenesis techniques; plant breeding regulation; risk coherence.