APPENDIX 22
Supplementary memorandum submitted by
the Supply Chain Initiative onModified Agricultural Crops (R 35)
I write in response to your letter of 8 December
seeking additional information on two specific points raised during
the SCIMAC oral evidence session to the Agriculture Committee
on 30 November.
1. As requested, please find attached a
list of organisations consulted by SCIMAC on the Code of Practice
and Herbicide Tolerance Guidelines (see Annex).
2. Q. How will the SCIMAC guidelines
allow GM-free or non-GM claims to be made about purchases by the
consumer further down the food chain?
A. The written memorandum of evidence submitted
to the Committee by SCIMAC in October 1999 called for the urgent
establishment of consistent threshold levels within the food industry
to define labelling claims relating to "non-GM or "GM-free"
products.
Specific management practices within the SCIMAC
Code of Practice to safeguard the integrity and identity of harvested
GM and non-GM crops are also highlighted in the written memorandum
of evidence. They include:
Separate storage of GM and non-GM seed.
Cleaning down of seed drills before and after
planting.
Crop separation distances by crop type and species.
Cleaning down of harvesting machinery before
and after use.
Separate on-farm storage of harvested GM and
non-GM crops.
Onward transfer of information with each GM crop
consignment.
As indicated by Dr Turner during the course
of the oral evidence session (Q. 73), nothing in life can be 100
per cent guranteed. However, the SCIMAC Code of Practice draws
on management practices within the certified seed production sector
which in more than 30 years of operation in UK agriculture has
consistently delivered levels of varietal purity and identity
in excess of 99.5 per cent. This is well within tolerance levels
currently applied elsewhere in UK agriculture (eg organic), as
well as proposed threshold levels of GM labelling within the EU.
The SCIMAC Code of Practice offers independently
audited identity preservation along the farm supply chain from
seed stock to harvested crop. This will allow businesses further
along the food chain to comply with statutory labelling requirements
and to translate these assurances into meaningful information
for consumers. SCIMAC has maintained a close dialogue with primary
processors, food manufacturers and food retailers to ensure that
this onward transfer of information is maintained.
6 January 2000
Annex
ORGANISATIONS CONSULTED AND/OR COMMENTS RECEIVED
BY SCIMAC ON GM CROP CODE OF PRACTICE AND HERBICIDE TOLERANCE
GUIDELINES
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
(MAFF)
Department of the Environment, Transport and
the Regions (DETR)
Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment
(ACRE)
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
Central Science Laboratory
European Commission (DG III—Industry)
European Commission (DG VI—Agriculture)
European Commission (DG XI—Environment)
European Commission (DG XXIV—Health &
Consumer Protection)
National Institute for Agricultural Botany (NIAB)
Scottish Agricultural College
British Crop Protection Council
Pulse Growers Research Institute
Scottish Crop Research Institute
Royal Agricultural Society of England
British Sugar
Scottish Agronomy
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research
Council (BBSRC)
John Innes Centre
Horticulture Research International
Morley Research Centre
Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG)
Maize Growers Association
National Association of Agricultural Contractors
(NAAC)
Grain and Feed Trade Association (GAFTA)
British Institute of Agricultural Consultants
Home-Grown Cereals Authority (HGCA)
British Potato Council
Food and Drink Federation (FDF)
Consumers Association
Consumers in Europe Group
Institute of Grocery Distribution
British Retail Consortium
Soil Association
Country Landowners Association (CLA)
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
UK Register of Organic Food Standards (UKROFS)
GeneWatch
English Nature
Scottish Natural Heritage
Countryside Council for Wales
Green Alliance
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)
Friends of the Earth
Biodynamic Agricultural Association
Farming and Livestock Concern
The Farm and Food Society
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