Safety checks on GMOs flawed: EU environment chief

[Celebration]

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyID=2006-04-05T105928Z_01_L05651737_RTRUKOC_0_US-FOOD-EU-GMO.xml&archived=False

VIENNA (Reuters) - Europe's environment chief attacked the EU's top food safety agency on Wednesday for flawed risk assessments of genetically modified (GMO) crops and foods, saying it relied too much on data given by the biotech industry.

In a strong hint he was unwilling to process new requests for approval of GMOs for growing until their potential long-term impact was known , EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas also warned against using such data as a sole information source.

His comments on EFSA, Europe's Parma-based food safety agency, which conducts scientific risk assessments of GMO products awaiting EU approval, echoed similar criticisms made last month by the bloc's environment ministers.

"There are questions like whether scientific opinions rendered by EFSA have relied exclusively on information provided by companies that look at short-term effects ," he said.