Luxembourg, 13/03/2003 (Agence Europe) - Advocate General Alber has submitted his conclusions in the Monsanto affair, which went back to a period before 1988 where trans-genetic residues could be put on the market by a simplified procedure. Alber explained that Italy was able to ban them if new information suggested it for environmental or public health considerations. Since 1998, Member States have not used this procedure, which was abolished in the draft regulation of 2001.