Abstract
Following a request from the European Commission, the Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA GMO Panel) assessed the monitoring report, provided by BASF, on the genetically modified (GM) potato EH92-527-1 (variety Amflora) for the 2012 growing season. Because of the discontinuation of the GM potato cultivation in the European Union in 2012, the 2012 monitoring report contained a limited information package, mainly the results of the 2012 monitoring study for volunteers within and around the fields cropped with the GM potato in 2010. The EFSA GMO Panel concludes that GM potato volunteers can be controlled by the applied weed control practices but cannot conclude on the absence of enhanced fitness of the GM potato due to data limitations and flaws in the study design. Hence, the EFSA GMO Panel makes appropriate recommendations. Accounting for the biology of the crop, the GM trait and the common management practices in potato cropping, the EFSA GMO Panel considers it is unlikely that a potential change in fitness or persistence would significantly alter the ability of GM volunteers to establish. Moreover, the EFSA GMO Panel does not consider the occurrence of potato volunteers as an environmental concern but rather as a crop management issue. Therefore, the EFSA GMO Panel concludes that the information provided in the 2012 monitoring report does not indicate any adverse effects of potato EH92-527-1 on the environment or human and animal health. Therefore, the outcomes of the 2012 monitoring report do not invalidate the conclusions of the EFSA GMO Panel‟s previous opinions on potato EH92-527-1
Arpaia, Salvatore