Genetically modified crops: post-market monitoring
Advice from the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment on designing processes for monitoring genetically modified organisms.
Documents
Details
This report contains the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE’s) advice and opinion on how to monitor GM crops ‘in the field’, once they have been released into the environment.
In the EU growing genetically modified (GM) crops is only allowed if an environmental risk assessment has already shown it is safe for human health and the environment. After permission has been granted, the grower must continue to monitor the crop during its growth cycle for any evidence of further risks.
The 2 types of monitoring used are:
- case specific monitoring
- general surveillance
The document includes ACRE’s recommendations for designing and carrying out both types of monitoring, and examines some tools and techniques used in each. In particular the report examines the use of existing environmental surveillance networks in general surveillance.