ABSTRACT

All of the major agricultural crops in use today are inherently herbicide resistant (HR), providing farmers with the flexibility of applying selective postemergence herbicides to control weeds appearing within the crop. The research and development work with transgenic HR plants involves a series of routine steps, many of which were well developed in the past by breeders and agronomists in their efforts to discover new varieties and new herbicides. These steps may be classified into three phases, according to where they are performed: laboratory, glasshouse, and field. Prior to any adoption of European Union (EU) legislation concerning variety approval and food safety, the environmental safety aspects of "placing on the market" of transgenic HR varieties will continue to be assessed according to the procedure described in part C of Directive 90/220/European Economic Community (EEC). The initial Commission proposal on Novel Foods and Novel Food Ingredients suggested that the labeling of novel foods and food ingredients be decided on case-by-case basis.