National Listing - Chardon LL Hearing

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A factual digest of the evidence submitted to the CHARDON public Hearing is now available.

The hearing finished on 13 June 2002 and Alun Alesbury - the person appointed by Ministers to conduct the Hearing - has now submitted a thematic digest of the evidence presented before him to the National Authorities.

In addition, advice on the GM safety issues raised in the CHARDON oral and written representations has been published by the Advisory Committee on Releases into the Environment (ACRE) and the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP).

Ministers will, in due course, consider their joint decision on whether CHARDON LL should be added to the UK National List, taking account of the oral and written representations, and any documents relied on and evidence adduced at the Hearing, as well as the advice of ACRE and the ACNFP. When a decision has been taken, it will be published in the Plant Varieties and Seeds Gazette. In addition, all of the persons who made written or oral representations will be advised of that decision individually, together with the reasons for it, and of the procedures for appeal against the decision to the Plant Varieties & Seeds Tribunal.

National Listing Requirements

Chardon LL - a GM (herbicide tolerant) forage maize - is the first genetically modified plant variety to be proposed for addition to the UK National List.

Addition to the National List is a statutory requirement before varieties of the main agricultural and vegetable species may be marketed. National Listing relates primarily to the agronomic attributes of a variety, whether GM or non-GM. GM varieties may only be proposed for addition to the National List after all of the requirements under GM legislation have been met i.e. the variety must have been accepted for marketing in accordance with Council Directive 90/220/EEC on the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms and have authorisation, if intended for use as a novel food or food ingredient, under Council regulation (EC)258/97.

Issues about the safety of T25 maize have been referred to the appropriate statutory advisory bodies, the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE) and the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP) for advice as part of their continuous review of evidence that might affect GM authorisations.

Copies of the results of DUS tests and VCU trials carried out on CHARDON LL, together with other relevant papers and transcripts of the Hearing are available from the links on this page.