Brussels, 07/09/2009 (Agence Europe) - At the Agricultural Council on Monday 7 September in Brussels, Commissioner for Agriculture Mariann Fischer Boel and several EU countries (Netherlands, Denmark, United, Kingdom, Spain, Romania and the Czech Republic) gave their support to setting up a contamination threshold for unauthorised GMOs in imported animal feed. Three EU countries (Cyprus, Austria and, to a lesser extent, Poland) expressed a preference for applying the precautionary principle -zero tolerance - (blocking cargoes when they are contaminated by non-EU approved GMOs).
The European Commission was keen on discussing the subjected as a “miscellaneous” point because the EU has experienced difficulties in obtaining soya cake for animal rearing. In mid July, Fischer Boel explained that 20,000 tonnes of soya from the US were sent back from European ports after identifying minimum traces of a GMO maize. The commissioner has therefore once again challenged the practice of zero tolerance in this field. In addition to the problem of blocking cargoes of US soya, the market is experiencing other problems: Argentinean production in 2008-09 fell by 30% due to the drought; South American stocks are abnormally low; China is increasing its presence as a purchaser on the world market.
Commissioner Fischer Boel highlighted the distinction between this dossier, which only involves imports, and the one involving the cultivation of GMOs on Community land. Nonetheless, Belgium has appealed to Europe to examine the problems posed by its dependency in the animal feed sector. Poland underlined the need to encourage farmers to develop the production of plant proteins in the EU itself. Warsaw also asked why Europe, in the middle of a milk crisis, was not encouraging the use of skimmed milk in animal feed. (L.C./transl.rh)