No prosecution for GM test breach

Inspectors have introduced stricter supervision for harvest

A company that sowed GM seeds contaminated with other genetically modified materials will not be prosecuted in England, the government has announced.

Bayer AG's BayerCropSciences division, formerly Aventis CropScience, was found to have technically breached GM test conditions in 12 oilseed rape field trials in England and two in Scotland.

The seeds contained additional GM elements which, although authorised by the government in their own right, should not have been present in this case.

Inspectors found seeds in the remaining trial sites, 10 in England and one in Scotland, also contained impurities.

The Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE) concluded that as the contaminated seeds had been sown inadvertently and no environmental harm had been caused there was no realistic prospect of conviction under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

In Scotland the final decision on whether or not to prosecute will be taken by the Procurator Fiscal, to whom the issue is being referred.

I welcome the fact our systems have identified the presence of unauthorised seed Environment and agri-environment minister Elliot Morley

Scottish deputy environment and rural development minister Allan Wilson said: "We take extremely seriously any breaches in the rigorous conditions attached to the consents for these trials."

ACRE also recommended imposing stricter conditions on all future trials.

The government and the Scottish Executive have accepted all of its recommendations.

In future ACRE will require detailed descriptions of the conditions under which seeds are produced as part of all applications for research consents.

It will then recommend different inspection procedures depending on the conditions under which seeds are produced.

We welcome anything that improves confidence in our research BayerCropSciences spokesman Julian Little

In some cases, independent validation of seed purity by the GM Inspectorate will also be required.

The inspectors have also introduced stricter supervision of procedures for harvest and disposal of GM oil seed rape to ensure none enters the food chain.

BayerCropSciences spokesman Julian Little told BBC News Online the company was confident it would be able to comply with the stricter conditions.

"We welcome anything that improves confidence in our research," he added.

Environment and agri-environment minister Elliot Morley said valuable lessons had been learned.

Consumer choice

"I welcome the fact our systems have identified the presence of unauthorised seed."

"We are determined to have effective systems in place to ensure consumer choice whatever the future of GM in this country.

"It is a global product and we must have systems of control to ensure seed purity and consumer choice."

Anti-GM campaigners are marching from the National Farmers Union headquarters, to Downing Street and the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on Monday to raise awareness before the government announces the results of field trials on Thursday.