Import and processing of GM maize MON89034 x 1507 x MIR162 x NK603 x DAS-40278-9 and subcombinations
- The present application (EFSA/GMO/NL/2018/151) concerns the authorisation for import and processing for use in feed and food of genetically modified (GM) maize MON89034x1507xMIR162xNK603xDAS-40278-9 and its sub-combinations;
- The stacked event maize MON89034x1507xMIR162xNK603xDAS-40278-9 was produced by conventional crossbreeding of the five GM parental maize lines;
- Previously, COGEM advised positively on the import and processing of all five parental lines;
- The GM maize expresses the genes cry1A.105, cry2Ab2, cry1F, vip3Aa20, cp4 epsps, pat, aad-1 and pmi;
- It is resistant to certain lepidopteran insects, tolerant to 2,4 dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, glyphosate and glufosinate-ammonium containing herbicides, and able to use mannose as a carbon source;
- In the Netherlands, feral maize populations have never been observed and the appearance of volunteers is rare;
- In the Netherlands, the wild relative of maize, teosinte is not present in maize fields or in nature and hybridisation of GM maize with other species is therefore not possible;
- The molecular characterisation of MON89034x1507xMIR162xNK603xDAS-40278-9 has been updated and meets the criteria of COGEM;
- The updated molecular characterisation does not provide indications for potential environmental risks;
- There are no indications that the introduced traits allow the stacked event maize MON89034x1507xMIR162xNK603x DAS-40278-9 to survive in the Netherlands;
- There are no indications that MON89034x1507xMIR162xNK603xDAS-40278-9 could establish feral populations in the Netherlands;
- COGEM is of the opinion that import and processing of maize MON89034x1507xMIR162x NK603xDAS-40278-9, and GM maize consisting of sub-combinations of its parental GM maize lines poses a negligible risk to the environment in the Netherlands;
- COGEM abstains from giving advice on the potential risks of incidental consumption since a food/feed assessment is carried out by other organisations.