France: Ban of MON 810 maize rejected by EU

France's attempt to ban the planting of a Monsanto strain of genetically modified maize has been rejected by the EU's food safety body ESFA. In 2008, France banned the strain MON 810 following public protests against the GM maize, but this was overturned by a French court in 2011, the Guardian reports . However, in March 2012 the French government reinstated the ban, with the then French agricultural minister saying the move was to protect the environment.
 

According to the EFSA Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms, “the relevance of concerns raised by France was considered in the light of the most recent and relevant scientific data published in the scientific literature. During its evaluation of the supporting documentation, the EFSA GMO Panel has noted that some publications referred to by France were already part of the submission package by France for its safeguard clause and emergency measure on maize MON 810 in 2008. Those publications were addressed previously by the EFSA GMO Panel in its 2008 Scientific Opinion on the safeguard clause and emergency measure notified by France on maize MON 810, which concluded that no specific scientific evidence, in terms of risk to human and animal health or the environment, was provided that would justify the invocation of a safeguard clause under Article 23 of Directive 2001/18/EC and an emergency measure under Article 34 under Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003.” The full opinion of the panel is available here: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/de/efsajournal/pub/2705.htm. A spokesman for Europe's health commissioner John Dalli stateted that the EU executive "will consider how to follow up on this ruling, though technically we could ask France to raise its ban”.