GMO rapeseed, banned in Europe, grew in France in 2022 because of “gaps” during transport

A “gap” with lasting consequences. GMO rapeseed, probably fallen from dump trucks on the way to a factory in the port of Rouen, germinated in early 2022, indicates the national food safety agency (Anses). But there is a double problem. The cultivation of genetically modified rapeseed is prohibited in Europe, but they can be imported for processing and use on site. They are found in certain edible oils, livestock feed or in the form of agrofuels.

And the plants, which have since been destroyed but may regrow, have been spotted on the side of the road for several miles around the factory. ANSES considers that the modified genes can hybridize with local crops, in particular through pollen dispersal. Fortunately, in the case identified in Normandy, this “could only lead to an extremely low rate of contamination”, being “diffuse plants over very small areas”, and not GMO rapeseed fields.

A Canadian import

The investigations linked the dissemination of GMO rapeseed to the activity of a Saipol factory, a subsidiary of the French number one oil company Avril, based in the industrial-port area of ​​Rouen. This factory has been importing GMO rapeseed since 2016, mainly from Canada where this cultivation is authorized. The alert dates back to the end of February 2022, when the Inf’OGM association, critical of these crops, discovered rapeseed plants on the side of the road and decided to have them analyzed.

“It was a dozen skinny plants, but in full bloom”, describes the founder of Inf’OGM, Christophe Noisette. The first analyzes reveal the presence of a transgene. Inf’OGM alerts the Ministry of Agriculture, which takes its own samples in April, asks for the plants to be destroyed in May and then calls on ANSES to assess the measures to be taken and make recommendations.

Plants that are resistant to glyphosate

In the case of Normandy, the spread of GMOs “most likely and mostly comes from losses linked to transport by wheelbarrowing (dump truck) of the seeds”, notes ANSES. “Rapeseed is an extremely volatile plant. It is naive to believe that the GMO will not be disseminated or else we need hyper tight systems. There, it’s not waterproof at all, it’s craftsmanship, ”says Christophe Noisette, explaining that he observed “rapeseed flying” during the unloading of ships.

The oil seeds arrive by boat and are unloaded at two port terminals from where they are transported either by a conveyor system or by dump truck to the storage silos adjacent to the Saipol plant, which belong to the Sénalia company. According to ANSES, “the procedures put in place by the Saipol factory and aimed at limiting the dissemination of seeds during transport are insufficient or incorrectly put in place”. Since then, an “action plan implemented to avoid the dissemination of seeds has been reinforced”, reacted the company.

The samples revealed the presence of four different genetically modified oilseed rape: they were designed to tolerate a glyphosate-type herbicide so that when sprayed on crops, only undesirable plants are eliminated. Due to seed dormancy cycles, “new GM rapeseed plants could be observed for several years”, observes ANSES, which therefore recommends enhanced monitoring and destruction of plants at regular intervals.

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