Commission Regulation (EU) 619/2011 harmonised the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy on non-authorised GM material in feed. Harmonised methods of sampling and analysis for the official controls performed by EU countries are established and a 'technical zero' for detection of asynchronous and obsolete GM material in feed is set up.
Harmonised methods for sampling and analysis
Robust and harmonised sampling and detection methods ensure that the same results are obtained from the same products throughout the EU. This implies legal certainty for operators as they know that their products will be subject to the same harmonised rules in all EU countries.
Technical zero
A 'technical zero' for GM presence in feed is set up at the level of 0.1%, which is the lowest level where results are satisfactorily reproducible between official laboratories. This 'technical zero' is referred as the Minimum Required Performance Limit in Regulation (EU) 619/2011.
Only pending and obsolete GMOs are covered
The harmonised rules for sampling and analysis apply only to two categories of GM feed material: GMOs authorised in a third country and for which an authorisation procedure has been pending in the EU for more than three months, and GMOs which were authorised in the EU but for which the authorisation has expired.
The GM material fulfilling the conditions of the Regulation is available on the EU register of GM food and feed website.