Switzerland will not be forced to import ‘new GMOs’ from the EU
Keystone-SDA
Switzerland will not be obliged to import genetically modified foodstuffs obtained by new genomic techniques from the European Union, says the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA).
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Bern actually negotiated an exception concerning the placing on the market of products that are GMOs or contain them.
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Called “new GMO”‘ by their critics, new genomic techniques (Ngt) allow the genome of a plant to be modified without introducing foreign DNA, unlike first-generation GMOs. In early December, the 27 EU states reached an agreement to authorise plants obtained by these techniques in the EU.
Within the framework of the food safety protocol in the Swiss-EU agreements, Bern negotiated an exception with the EU regarding the placing on the market of this type of product, the FDHA said today in response to a question from Keystone-ATS.
Switzerland will thus be able to continue to set its own regulations independently and will not be obliged to harmonise its legislation with that of the EU in this area.
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Translated from Italian by DeepL/mga
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