European Coexistence Bureau. Coexistence of genetically modified maize and honey production

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1 European Coexistence Bureau Coexistence of genetically modified maize and honey production Ivelin Rizov Emilio Rodriguez Cerezo Joint Research Centre, IPTS Serving society Stimulating innovation Supporting legislation Plenary Meeting of the Advisory Group on the Food Chain and Animal and Plant Health on 26 of April 2013

2 The JRC IE Petten, The Netherlands Institute for Energy IRMM Geel, Belgium Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements ITU Karlsruhe, Germany Institute for Transuranium Elements IES/ IHCP/ IPSC Ispra, Italy Institute for Environment and Sustainability Institute for Health and Consumer Protection Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen IPTS Sevilla, Spain Institute for Prospective Technological Studies Serving society Stimulating innovation Supporting legislation

3 Coexistence concepts Farmers able to cultivate any authorised crop Consumers right to choose ( EU mandatory labelling) Agriculture open space activity: therefore. Coexistence measures are needed: technical measures to avoid the possible economic consequences of the admixture GMnon GM products Not designed for environmental purposes

4 Developing national co-existence measures is the responsibility of EU member states Extreme diversity of farming conditions in Europe European Commission retains roles on Producing general guidelines (updated in 2010) (DG SANCO) Coordination and exchange of information (DG SANCO-COEXNET) Offering detailed technical advice to member states (European Coexistence Bureau-JRC)

5 ECOB structure EU Member States experts organised in Technical Working Groups managed by a scientific secretariat of the JRC-IPTS Technical Working Group on Maize : 19 Member States began work on October 2008 Austria Belgium Denmark France Germany Italy Ireland Lithuania Luxembourg Slovakia Poland Portugal Netherlands Slovenia Romania Sweden Spain Greece UK

6 The TWG maize of the ECoB finalised and published the Best Practice Document on Maize coexistence in July 2010 Honey not considered at that time

7 ECoB work on Coexistence between GM maize and honey production The European Commission proposal of 21st September 2012 for amendment of Council Directive 2001/110/EC recognizes that pollen is a natural constituent of honey. Labelling rules apply to honey if containing GM pollen above relevant thresholds ( Reg EC 1829/2003 ) Coexistence between GM maize cultivation in the EU and honey production in the EU shall be studied

8 ECoB work on Coexistence between GM maize and honey production Scope If further coexistence measures are required to limit presence of GM maize pollen in honey in order to avoid economic losses for honey producers Understands that economic consequence may originate from the need for labelling (0.9% content) but also operators in the food chain may demand lower thresholds for their purchases Honey produced in the EU (not imported) Currently authorised, single transformation event GM maize

9 EcoB work on Coexistence between GM maize and honey production Two meetings of the TWG maize of ECoB: June and November 2012 Review of literature (in total 132 references) for: biological factors: honeybee behaviour and maize pollen characteristics factors determining the presence of maize pollen in EU produced honey quality standards that impact pollen content in commercial honey empirical evidence of presence of maize pollen in EU honey possibilities for the detection and identification of traces of GM maize pollen in honey.

10 Draft ECoB report : Coexistence of GM maize and honey production 1. Introduction. 2. Structure and main products of apiculture in EU Member States. 3. Review of available information on appearance and management of adventitious presence of GM maize pollen in honey Honeybees foraging Pollen content and quality standards of honeys produced in Europe. 4. Detection of GM pollen in honey. 5. Best practices for coexistence of GM maize and honey production. 6. References.

11 Coexistence of GM maize and honey production Honeybees foraging for maize pollen Maize provides only pollen and is not a nectar-producing plant. A rough estimation of the flying distances covered by honeybees for maize pollen foraging could be in the range of a few hundred meters to 1 km. Maize flowering lasts 2-4 weeks

12 Coexistence of GM maize and honey production Entry routes of maize pollen in honey The characteristics of maize plants/pollen and the entry routes of pollen significantly limit its presence in honey: Main source of pollen presence in honey are pollen grains present in nectar. Maize is not a nectar producing plant. Maize pollen could end up in the nectar of other flowers only as contamination. Maize pollen (large) is efficiently filtered by honeybees before regurgitation Maize pollen entry in honey could occur when honeybees groom their body in an effort to remove entangled pollen on their hairs. Also it can be blown into the hive by wind During the uncapping of combs and honey extraction, pollen cells can be disturbed and a few pollen grains may drop into honey.

13 Coexistence of GM maize and honey production Quality standards for honey affecting final pollen content Directive 2001/110/EC; and Codex Alimentarius standard Mandatory limits for water insoluble material in honey is fixed at 0.1 % (w/w), with the exception of "pressed honey" (0.5 %) Water-insoluble matter in honey includes: pollen, honeycomb debris, bee and dirt particles. The threshold of 0.5% for pressed honey reflects the specificity harvesting technique (nowadays almost all commercial honey is harvested by centrifugation, not by pressing the combs)

14 Coexistence of GM maize and honey production Review of data on total pollen content in EU produced honeys Total number of pollen grains per gram of EU produced honey ranges between (melissopalynological analysis of samples from EU countries) Roughly equivalent to a range between 0.003% to 0.1 % in weight (by the conversion of the empirical data for the total number of pollen grains in EU produced honey into a weight fraction) Out of this total pollen, maize pollen is not frequently found in honey samples analysed and, when present, the fraction of maize pollen out of total pollen is very small, typically below 5% and is considered a minor species.

15 Coexistence of GM maize and honey production Detection of GM maize pollen in honey Real-time PCR methods have been investigated for detection and quantification of DNA extracted from pollen in honey. GM maize pollen (MON810) DNA extraction from honey is possible and detection reproducible A method for quantification of total pollen presence in honey based on DNA analysis is not available, the main difficulty is the presence in all honey samples of pollen from different botanical species

16 Coexistence of GM maize and honey production Best practices for coexistence of GM maize and honey production Based on the analysis of the evidence summarised in the BPD for coexistence of GM maize and honey production the Technical Working Group concluded that no changes in the Best practice document on maize coexistence of July 2010 are necessary and that the current practices in honey production and marketing in Europe are sufficient to ensure that adventitious presence of GM maize pollen in honey is far below legal labelling thresholds and even far below 0.1 %.

17 Thank you for your attention