Biosafety panel defers GM corn, cotton cases

NBC sends applications back, says recommendations lack clarity

ISLAMABAD:

The National Biosafety Committee (NBC) deferred consideration of pending Food, Feed and Processing applications for soybean meal imports, renewal of genetically modified (GM) corn biosafety licences and several cotton-related applications at its 38th meeting, holding that the recommendations forwarded by its technical arm did not provide sufficiently clear conclusions for decision-making.

The committee, which met at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, directed that the cases be re-examined by the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), with clear recommendations and conclusions submitted to the NBC for final consideration.

Members also sought clarification on the holding of GM corn commercialisation activities. A representative of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research explained that in 2019 the government had decided to place commercialisation of biotech food crops on hold until a comprehensive policy framework was developed.

That gap has now been addressed through the approval and notification of the National Agricultural Biotechnology Policy (NABP) 2025, which provides a regulatory framework for the evaluation and commercialisation of agricultural biotechnology products, he said.

The reservations that led to the 2019 decision have therefore been resolved, and relevant authorities have been informed to proceed under the approved framework, according to the explanation given to the committee.