3. Scope

The Consultation was convened to address food safety and nutritional questions regarding foods and food ingredients derived from plants that have been genetically modified using recombinant DNA techniques. Nevertheless, the concepts and principles described in this report are equally applicable to all foods and food ingredients derived from plants modified by other techniques.

For the purpose of this report, the term “genetically modified food/plant” is used to describe foods or food ingredients that are, or are derived from, plants that have been modified (engineered) through the use of recombinant DNA techniques.

Specifically, the Consultation was requested:

• to provide FAO, WHO and their Member States with scientific support in relation to the safety and nutritional features of foods derived from biotechnology on the basis of available scientific data, taking into consideration work done by national authorities, FAO, WHO and other international organisations and other relevant international fora;

• to review existing strategies for the safety and nutritional assessment of foods derived from biotechnology, taking into account ever increasing public concerns and experiences accumulated in testing such foods;

• to make recommendations on further research needs and priorities for evaluation of safety and nutritional aspects of foods derived from biotechnology.

The first session of the Codex ad hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Foods Derived from Biotechnology, which had been established by the twenty-third session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in June/July 1999, was held in Chiba, Japan in March 2000. It welcomed the initiative of FAO and WHO to convene the Consultation. It identified the following questions on which the Consultation was invited to formulate scientific opinions^[2]:

• What overarching scientific principles should be applied to the safety and nutritional assessment?

• What is the role, and what are the limitations, of substantial equivalence in the safety and nutritional assessment? Are there alternative strategies to substantial equivalence that should be used for the safety and nutritional assessment?

• What scientific approach can be used to monitor and assess possible long-term health effects or unintended/unexpected adverse effects?

• What scientific approach can be used to assess the potential allergenicity?

• What scientific approach can be used to assess the possible risks arising from the use of antibiotic resistance marker genes in plants and microorganisms?

The Consultation did not consider environmental safety issues related to the release of genetically modified food/plants into the environment as these were outside its defined scope. Similarly, it did not consider non-science aspects such as socio-economics, risk management and public acceptance.