The scientific assessment and analytic monitoring of food safety and safekeeping sustainable, ecologically friendly agriculture and, thus, the yield of Austria’s fields with regards to health in humans, animals and plants is a core task at AGES.
The cultivation of genetically modified plants (GM plants) is prohibited in Austria. However, the cultivation areas for such plants are expanding globally every year. Thus, AGES monitors food and feedstuffs and seeds and develops professional, technical opinions with regards to questions on seed materials, plant cultivation and analytics, as well as on risks regarding health, environment, animal nutrition, biodiversity and humans on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management (BMLFUW).
AGES assists its two shareholder ministries with professional advice and provides the expertise of its Task Force GMO for parliamentary inquiries and the Code Commission of the Austrian Food Code (Codex Alimentarius Austriacus, ÖLMB). AGES is also part of research programmes and publishes scientific papers in the field of green genetics.
AGES scientists help improve the quality of applications for the approval of GM varieties at European levels. They check the quality of the approval dossiers and support the work of the European food authority EFSA – and, thus, food safety in Europe – with their scientific risk assessments.
Legal Principles
- Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2003 on genetically modified food and feed
- Directive 2001/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 March 2001 on the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms and repealing Council Directive 90/220/EEC - Commission Declaration
- Regulation (EC) No 1830/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2003 concerning the traceability and labelling of genetically modified organisms and the traceability of food and feed products produced from genetically modified organisms and amending Directive 2001/18/EC
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 503/2013 of 3 April 2013 on applications for authorisation of genetically modified food and feed in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council and amending Commission Regulations (EC) No 641/2004 and (EC) No 1981/2006
- The Austrian Federal Law that regulates working with genetically modified organisms, the release and sale of genetically modified organisms and the use of gene analysis and gene therapy in humans (Austrian Gene Technology Act - GTG) and that amends the Austrian Product Liability Act (Federal Law Gazette No 510/1994)
- Regulation by the Federal Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management on the contamination of seed materials with genetically modified organisms and the labelling of GMO varieties of seed material of GMO varieties (Federal Law Gazette II No 478/2001)
Links
Gentechnik – Aufgaben des Bundesministeriums für Land- und Forstwirtschaft, Umwelt und Wasserwirtschaft (BMLFUW)
Gentechnik - Aufgaben des Bundesministeriums für Gesundheit (BMG)
Neue Pflanzenzüchtungen und Herausforderungen für die Kontrolle - Gastkommentar in APA Science
Europäische Kommission, Generaldirektion Gesundheit und Verbraucher - Fachinformation zu GVO
Europäisches GVO Register für Produkte zugelassen nach der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1829/2003
EFSA - GMO-Panel
Biosafety-Clearing House - GVO Register
AGES - Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety
