Policy Making

Adventitious presence of GMOs in conventional seeds and coexistence

Adventitious presence

The introduction of GM seeds and GM crops into agricultural production in the EU and worldwide has raised the issue of adventitious presence of GM seeds in conventional seed lots. Article 21(2) of Directive 2001/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms provides that for products where adventitious or technically unavoidable traces of authorised GMOs cannot be excluded, a minimum threshold may be established below which the products shall not have to be labelled in accordance with the provisions of the Directive.

In the absence of a Community threshold, which is the current situation, the legislative framework requires the labelling of conventional seed lots which contain any detectable traces of GM seeds authorised for cultivation under Community legislation. This legal requirement has been in place since labelling provisions were introduced under Directive 90/220/EEC  and maintained under Directive 2001/18/EC (repealing Directive 90/220/EEC). It remains illegal to place on the EU market GM seeds unauthorised for cultivation.

A number of studies have been carried out in support of the Commission's work on labelling thresholds for seeds:

1. A descriptive analysis of conventional, organic and GM crop and certified seed production in the EU (July 2008) - study carried out by the IPTS of the European Commission Joint Research Centre for the European Commission - DG Environment.
2. Adventitious traces of genetically modified seeds in conventional seed lots: current situation in Member States (July 2007) - study carried out by the Central Science Laboratory for the European Commission - DG Environment.
3. New case studies on the co-existence of GM and non-GM crops in European agriculture (February 2006) - study carried out by the IPTS of the European Commission Joint Research Centre.