GM Contamination Register Report 2007

Publication - 28 February, 2008
This is the third annual report from the online GM Contamination Register, which reviews reported cases of contamination and illegal plantings and releases of GM (genetically modified) organisms.

The question mark has been used by Greenpeace in GE-crop fields around the world to highlight the lack of information concerning genetically modified organisms.

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Executive summary: The GM Contamination Register was started by GeneWatch UK and Greenpeace International in 2005, to address the failure of international agencies to monitor contamination. In 2007, 39 incidents were added to the register. In addition, changes to the reporting format and the discovery of new cases led to the addition of 1 case for 2003, 2 cases for 2005 and 32 cases for 2006, bringing the total number of incidents recorded in the database to 216.

The 28 incidents of contamination reported in 2007 involved food (19), feed (7) and seed (2). The year saw an increase in the number of feed cases reported due to the EU's Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed now making a clearer distinction between the two.

There were 11 cases of illegal release of GMOs detected in 2007. Four cases involved the illegal sale of GM zebra danio fish. Two cases involve the spillage of seed from trucks in Japan and Brazil (cotton). Two cases involve GM lines that have been part of field trials in past years now appearing in commercially cultivated field in Germany and Thailand. The final three cases are soybean growing in Romania (which was legal until it joined the EU in 2007), the continued illegal growing of GM maize in Mexico and the discovery of GM maize in Peru where no commercial planting is allowed.

The GM Contamination Register Report 2007 provides detailed accounts of all the 2007 entries, discusses the responses to GM contamination and presents conclusions and recommendations as to how the problem should be addressed.

Num. pages: 44

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