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42 I EUROPEAN SEED I EUROPEAN-SEED.COM REGULATORY KEEPING YOU INFORMED OF LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY CHANGES IN EUROPE AND ABROAD FROM LAWSUITS TO APPROVALS TO OTHER REGULATORY ISSUES AFFECTING YOUR BUSINESS. NATIONAL EU PLANT BREEDERS EXEMPTION MUST BE PROTECTED At its plenary session in Strasburg the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling upon the European Commission to work for a clarifica- tion of the scope of patentability under the EUs Biopatenting Directive. Members of Parliament drafted the resolution in reaction to a recent ruling of the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office which in the so-called broccolitomato case first had rejected the patentability of essentially biological processes like e.g. classical crossing and selection but later ruled that products derived from such processes could neverthe- less still be patented. In the resolution they express their concern with this ruling and call upon the Commission to urgently ensure legal clar- ity regarding the prohibition of the patentability of products obtained from essentially biological processes and that breeding with biological material falling under the scope of a patent is permitted. Garlich Von Essen sec- retary general of the European Seed Association ESA welcomed the Parliaments broad support for the resolution. All major political groups have supported this call and this truly sends a very strong signal to the Commission says Von Essen. We have always argued that patents must be restricted to true biotechnological inventions as it was intended by the legislators in 1998. If classical breeding processes are not patentable their resulting products should not be either. EUROPEAN COMMISSION WITHDRAWS AUTHORISATION OF GMOS The European Commission has withdrawn the authorisation of four GMOs for food or feed uses. The four GMOs are MON863 maize MON863xMON810xNK603 maize MON863xMON810 maize and MON863xNK603 maize. These GMOs all of which belong to agriculture company Monsanto have not been cultivated worldwide since 2011 and their commercial phase-out is completed therefore the company has asked for their withdrawal. INTERNATIONAL SGS IS FIRST ACCREDITED SEED QUARANTINE PROVIDER IN BRAZIL SGS has received accreditation from Brazils Ministry of Agriculture Livestock and Food Supply for the companys brand new state-of-the-art seed quarantine facility. Located in Piracicaba Sao Paulo it supports the import of seeds for breeding and RD trials for all major crops in Brazil. SGS now offers independent and accurate phytosanitary analysis of seeds imported for research and development programs into Brazil. This service is tailored for breeding companies to support and speed up seed batch release. With extensive capabilities and the latest equipment this facility enables fast and efficient turnaround times for clients and facilitates their access to the marketplace. The accreditation includes all major crops. Seed research and development and regulatory programmes are highly dependent on the importation of seed and propagation materials from different regions of the world. The challenge for the industry is to ensure that this transit is completed safely and without introducing destructive pests and diseases. Failure to do so can have devastating natural and commercial consequences. SGSs new facility is designed to eliminate this risk by detecting identifying containing and eliminating pests such as insects nematodes fungi bacteria viruses weeds and other organisms. The accreditation of our seed quarantine facility is a landmark for agri- culture in Brazil. It is also a credit to the hard work and determination of all those involved in making this project a success said Olivier Coppey executive vice president of Agriculture Food and Life SGS. This new facility will enable seed companies to import seeds safely comply with Brazilian phytosanitary regulations and contribute to the continuous development of Brazils Agriculture industry. FDA APPROVES SECOND GENERATION INNATE POTATOES The United Stated Food and Drug Administration FDA has completed its food and feed safety assessment of the second generation of J.R. Simplots Innate potatoes. The FDA concluded that the Russet Burbank Generation 2 potatoes are not materially different in composition safety and other relevant parameters from any other potato or potato-derived food or feed currently on the market. The second generation of Innate potatoes con- tains four benefits to potato growers processors and consumers reduced bruising and black spots reduced asparagine resistance to late blight pathogens and enhanced cold storage capability. These benefits were achieved by adapting genes from wild and cultivated potatoes. The safety consultation was voluntarily requested by Simplot and comes shortly after the U.S. Department of Agriculture also deregulated the same potatoes. These federal clearances involved a thorough technical review and a public comment period that drew the support of leading potato research univer- sities in the U.S. and Europe. FAS RELEASES STATUS OF GE FEEDS AND REGULATIONS IN TAIWAN The USDA Foreign Agricultural Service released the Global Agricultural Information Network Report on Taiwans genetic engineering products and regulations update. According to the report after the amendment of the Feed Control act in February 2015 all GE products for animal feed must be registered with the Council of Agriculture COA for premar- ket approvals by February 4 2017. GE events previously submitted to Taiwans Food and Drug Administration TFDA andor approved by the Administration are exempted from the COA review and require- ments. TFDAs current approval list is composed of 99 GE products including four canola 12 cotton 21 soybean and 62 corn events. Six cotton and one GE sugar beet application have been granted approval but are yet to be published. ZAMBIA LAUNCHES NATIONAL BIOSAFETY AUTHORITY The Zambian government has launched the National Biosafety Authority NBA whose core business is to regulate genetically modified organ- isms GMOs or products of GMOs in the country. The NBA is now fully functional in order to ensure that Zambia benefits from the safe applica- tion and use of modern biotechnology. Safety will now be ensured in the development use and handling of all gene modification technologies and products thereof because the NBA has put in place a system for notification and handling applications for permits and other key matters of biosafety says Minister of Higher Education Michael Kaingu. We are now on a clear path for the development of biotechnology. Our scientists are hard working to regulate and develop genetically modified crops and we now have the capacity to regulate them.