April 9 - An emergency measure adopted by the European Commission will apply from 15 April 2008, to make sure rice and rice products imported from China do not contain an unauthorised genetically modified (GM) rice known as 'Bt63'. Local authorities have been asked to liaise with businesses in their local area that may sell affected products. The Agency has issued a Food Alert for Action.
Bt63 is an unauthorised genetically modified organism (GMO) and so should not be sold in the European Union (EU).
What will the emergency measure require?
The Commission Decision will require imports of the rice and rice products listed below, originating or consigned from China, to be certified as being free of the unauthorised Bt63 GM rice.
National legislation to implement the Commission Decision in England has been prepared and will be submitted for Ministerial consideration next week. The legislation is titled 'The Specified Products from China (Restriction on First Placing on the Market) (England) Regulations 2008'. Further information on this legislation will be sent to local authorities in due course.
The Commission Decision specifies that, from 15 April, products originating in or consigned from China with the commodity number (CN) codes listed below, may only be placed on the EU market if:
-
they are accompanied by an original analytical report, issued by an official or accredited laboratory, which demonstrates that the product does not contain Bt63, consist of, or is not produced from Bt63
or
The measure also requires that Member States take appropriate measures, including random sampling and analysis, concerning the products listed below presented for importation or already on the market.
About the regulation
Regulation (EC) No. 1829/2003 on Genetically Modified Food and Feed stipulates that food and feed containing GM material cannot be placed on sale in the EU unless the associated GMO has been authorised under the regulation, following a rigorous safety assessment. Material from unauthorised GMOs in food or feed is not permitted at any level. Bt63 rice is a GMO which is not authorised and, as such, may not be placed on the EU market in food or feed. To do so would be an offence against Article 4(2) of the EC Regulation and an offence in English law under either Regulation 5(1) of the Genetically Modified Food (England) Regulations 2004 or Regulation 5(1) of the Genetically Modified Animal Feed (England) Regulations 2004.
The Agency considers that this unauthorised GM material should be considered 'unsafe' within the meaning of that term in Article 14 of Regulation (EC) 178/2002 (General Food Law). The Agency is not, at the moment, aware of any specific health implications for consumers who eat rice products containing Bt63.
Products affected
Products originating or consigned from China that must be certified from 15 April as being free of the unauthorised GM rice Bt63:
| Product |
CN code |
| Rice in the husk ('paddy' or rough) |
1006 10 |
| Husked (brown) rice |
1006 20 |
| Semi-milled or wholly milled rice, whether or not polished or glazed |
1006 30 |
| Broken rice |
1006 40 00 |
| Rice flour |
1102 90 50 |
| Rice groats and meal |
1103 19 50 |
| Rice pellets |
1103 20 50 |
| Flaked rice grains |
1104 19 91 |
| Rolled or flaked cereal grains (excluding grains of oats, wheat, rye, maize and barley, and flaked rice) |
1104 19 99 |
| Rice starch |
1108 19 10 |
| Preparations for infant use, put up for retail sale |
1901 10 00 |
| Uncooked pasta, not stuffed or otherwise prepared, containing eggs |
1902 11 00 |
| Uncooked pasta, not stuffed or otherwise prepared, not containing eggs |
1902 19 |
| Stuffed pasta, whether or not cooked or otherwise prepared |
1902 20 |
| Other pasta (other than uncooked pasta, not stuffed or otherwise prepared, and other than stuffed pasta, whether or not cooked or otherwise prepared) |
1902 30 |
| Prepared foods obtained by swelling or roasting cereals or cereal products, obtained from rice |
1904 10 30 |
| Preparations of the Müsli type based on unroasted cereal flakes |
1904 20 10 |
| Prepared foods obtained from unroasted cereal flakes or from mixtures of unroasted cereal flakes or swelled cereals, obtained from rice (excluding preparations of the Müsli type on the basis of unroasted cereal flakes) |
1904 20 95 |
| Rice, pre-cooked or otherwise prepared, not elsewhere specified or included (excluding flour, groats and meal, food preparations obtained by swelling or roasting or from unroasted cereal flakes or from mixtures of unroasted cereal flakes and roasted cereal flakes or swelled cereals) |
1904 90 10 |
| Rice paper |
ex 1905 90 20 |
| Bran, sharps and other residues, whether or not in the form of pellets, derived from the sifting, milling or other working of rice with a starch content not exceeding 35% by weight |
2302 40 02 |
| Bran, sharps and other residues, whether or not in the form of pellets, derived from the sifting, milling or other working of rice other than with a starch content not exceeding 35% by weight |
2302 40 08 |
| Peptones and their derivatives; other protein substances and their derivatives, not elsewhere specified or included; hide powder, whether or not chromed |
3504 00 00 |
Further information on products affected will be revised as and when appropriate.
Actions to be taken by local authorities
Local authorities have been asked to identify the food and animal feed businesses in their local area that may sell potentially affected products.