EPA query on genetically engineered beet

THE Environmental Protection Agency has sought more information from the US multinational chemical company planning to conduct the first test trials in Ireland for the production of genetically engineered sugar beet. The request means the EPA's decision on the application by Monsanto will be postponed.

The move has been interpreted by the Green Party as a vindication of its concerns about genetically modified crop production and particular concern about the use of sugar beet for such techniques. However, Monsanto's business manager for Ireland, Mr Sydney Reid, said yesterday the queries "were routine".

The request last Friday sought clarification on aspects of the process, the EPA's scientific officer, Dr Tom McLoughlin, confirmed. Beet is normally sensitive to the weedkiller Roundup, produced by Monsanto, but the strain which is the subject of the application "has been modified to express tolerance to the herbicide".

A decision had been due within 90 days of notification to the EPA late last year but that period will be extended by how long it takes for Monsanto to clarify its application to carry out trials in Cork, Kilkenny and Carlow.

"The request for clarification is a vindication of the concerns of all those who expressed worries about this application," the Green Party spokeswoman on agriculture and food, Ms Paula Giles, said. "The most up-to-date research, which raises safety questions, underlines our stance.

It also reinforced the need for a public hearing relating to the application, she said. While the EPA had suggested there was no legal basis for staging a hearing, it was the party's view that under EU law, the authority had discretion on the matter.

The EPA queries centred around clarification about the use of Roundup on beet, Mr Reid said, but he declined to expand on the information being sought. "Not for one moment do we have any concerns about the original dossier submitted to the EPA. This is not a first. We have conducted trials in seven EU countries since 1990."

The company planned to have the trials in progress this year which would necessitate the beet being planted by the end of April. On the 412 objections to its application, Mr Reid said people were entitled to have concerns, but he hoped they would have an open mind about biotechnology.