The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has rejected France’s second ban of controversial genetically modified maize. France reintroduced a ban on Monsanto’s MON810 maize, currently the only GM crop licensed for commercial planting in the EU, earlier this year after court rulings in Paris and Luxembourg effectively put an end to a previous interdiction introduced in 2008.

The French ministries for agriculture and the environment announced the most recent ban of the crop, sold as Yieldgard, in March, stating that EFSA findings regarding other GM maize were applicable to MON810 and that this crop posed “significant risks for the environment.” A spat ensued in which Monsanto announced it would not be marketing its GM maize in France until opinion of the maize amongst the public and farmers is more favourable.

However, on Monday the EFSA responded that "there is no specific scientific evidence, in terms of risk to human and animal health or the environment [from the maize]." The food safety body rejected evidence submitted by France in support of its ban saying no new evidence had been supplied demonstrating a threat to the environment.

Following the EFSA’s announcement, a spokesperson for European Commissioner John Dalli said the Commission will consider asking France to lift its interdiction, though this will be dependent on the outcome of the next environment ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg next month.   

Nevertheless, the maize, which is engineered to repel insects through the insertion of a ‘Bt toxin,’ has also been banned in Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Greece, Luxembourg and Hungary.  

GM is once again a hot topic in Europe. Following a heated debate on Thursday’s Newsnight programme between anti-GM campaigners and researchers trialling a novel strain of GM wheat at Rothamsted Research Institute, police were called to a break-in at the Hertfordshire Institute where a farmer was arrested for criminal damage to the test site where the contentious wheat is being grown.

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