European Union vouches
for safety of GMOs

A FOOD expert representing the European Union (EU) has declared that genetically modified (GM) food products are safe to consume, adding that this conclusion was reached through extensive scientific tests in Europe and other countries.

Patrick Deboyser, minister counselor of the Health and Consumer Protection Directorate General (SANCO) of the European Union (EU) told agriculture and food experts who attended a seminar on EU food safety and biotechnology at the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Soil and Water Management (DA-BSWM) that biotechnology guarantees global food security.

The EU, an economic and political alliance of most nations in Europe, is the world’s largest importer of agricultural products, absorbing more than what the US, Canada and Japan import each year.

Deboyser’s declaration indicates the satisfaction of the EU with food products that are derived from genetically modified organisms (GMOs). It is generally known that the EU maintains stringent phytosanitary standards and all food products entering the European market have to pass through strict tests before they are allowed to enter the market.

The EU official stressed that scientific tests have confirmed the absence of toxicity in GMOs and consequently, all studies conducted so far have dashed the fears of GMO opponents about the health risks posed biotechnology products.

Over the last five years, the EU food safety system has been overhauled, and many of its standards have been revised to conform to the advances in science, food processing and even biochemistry.

Deboyser also explained that the EU has consistently been monitoring the food chain under its farm-to-fork approach, thus leaving no room for faulty processing and the use of toxic food in any dinner table in Europe.