Book contents
- Genetically Modified Organisms in Developing CountriesRisk Analysis and Governance
- Genetically Modified Organisms in Developing Countries
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Foreword
- 1 Introduction
- Part I Risk Analysis Methodology and Decision-Making
- Part II Diversification of Expertise
- 8 Regulation of GMOs in Developing Countries: Why Socio-Economic Considerations Matter for Decision-Making
- 9 Food Safety Assessment of Genetically Modified Crops in Developing Countries: The Experience in Africa
- 10 Being Scientific about Socio-Economics in GMO Decision-Making in Developing Countries
- 11 The Sharing of Information in Risk Assessment: How National Authorities Cooperate
- 12 Should GM Rice with Nutrition Benefits Be Deployed? Findings from Biotech and Socio-Economic Research
- Part III Risk-Analysis-Based Regulatory Systems
- Part IV Case Studies from Developing Countries
- Index
- References
9 - Food Safety Assessment of Genetically Modified Crops in Developing Countries: The Experience in Africa
from Part II - Diversification of Expertise
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 July 2017
Book contents
- Genetically Modified Organisms in Developing CountriesRisk Analysis and Governance
- Genetically Modified Organisms in Developing Countries
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Foreword
- 1 Introduction
- Part I Risk Analysis Methodology and Decision-Making
- Part II Diversification of Expertise
- 8 Regulation of GMOs in Developing Countries: Why Socio-Economic Considerations Matter for Decision-Making
- 9 Food Safety Assessment of Genetically Modified Crops in Developing Countries: The Experience in Africa
- 10 Being Scientific about Socio-Economics in GMO Decision-Making in Developing Countries
- 11 The Sharing of Information in Risk Assessment: How National Authorities Cooperate
- 12 Should GM Rice with Nutrition Benefits Be Deployed? Findings from Biotech and Socio-Economic Research
- Part III Risk-Analysis-Based Regulatory Systems
- Part IV Case Studies from Developing Countries
- Index
- References
Summary
In order for developing countries to receive the benefits of genetically modified crops, assessments of both food safety and environmental risk must be conducted by the appropriate regulatory authorities to assure that the crops being imported or developed by scientists in-country are safe for cultivation and consumption. The status of regulatory capacity and policy in Africa exemplifies the challenges faced by developing countries. The Codex Alimentarius Commission have developed internationally accepted guidelines for the food safety assessment of genetically modified crops. However, constraints ranging from lack of expertise, limited financial and infrastructure capacity, to difficulties in political and organizational structure pose obstacles that require new solutions, including regional approaches to generating food safety data and conducting food safety assessments. These solutions will create a regulatory environment where proper assessments are conducted within the realities faced by developing countries, in order to assure safe access to genetically modified crops
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Genetically Modified Organisms in Developing CountriesRisk Analysis and Governance, pp. 103 - 114Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2017
References
AATF (2015). Maruca resistant cowpea – frequently asked questions (FAQs). [Online]. Available from www.aatf-africa.org/userfiles/CowpeaFAQ.pdfGoogle Scholar
ABNE (2014). Workshop on food/feed safety assessment of GM crop (news). [Online]. Available from www.nepadbiosafety.net/workshop-on-foodfeed-safety-assessment-of-gm-cropGoogle Scholar
ABNE (2016). ABNE in Africa – towards building functional biosafety systems in Africa. [Online]. Available from http://nepad-abne.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/ABNE-in-Africa-2016.pdfGoogle Scholar
Adenle, A. A. et al. (2013). Status of development, regulation and adoption of GM agriculture in Africa: views and positions of stakeholder groups. Food Policy 43, 159–166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alicai, T. et al. (2007). Re-emergence of cassava brown streak disease in Uganda. Plant Disease 91, 24–29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Anderson, J. A. et al. (2016). Emerging agricultural biotechnologies for sustainable agriculture and food security. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 64(2), 383–393.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Atkinson, J. H. et al. (2015). Africa needs streamlined regulation to support the deployment of GM crops. Trends in Biotechnology 33, 433–435.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Biosafety Clearing House (2015). National Reports on Biosafety. [Online]. Available from https://bch.cbd.int/protocol/cpb_natreports.shtmlGoogle Scholar
Chambers, J. A. et al. (2014). GM agricultural technologies for Africa – a state of affairs. Report of a study commissioned by the African Development Bank. [Online]. Available from www.ifpri.org/publication/gm-agricultural-technologies-africa-state-affairsGoogle Scholar
Chassy, B. et al. (2004). Nutritional and safety assessments of foods and feeds nutritionally improved through biotechnology. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety 3, 38–104.Google Scholar
Codex Alimentarius Commission (2003). Guideline for the conduct of food safety assessments of foods derived from recombinant-DNA plants. CAC/GL 45–2003. Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme.Google Scholar
Codex Alimentarius Commission (2009). Ad Hoc Inter-Governmental Task Force on Foods Derived from Modern Biotechnology in 1999–2003 and 2004–2009. International Food Standards. [Online]. Available from www.codexalimentarius.org/standards/en/Google Scholar
Craig, W. et al. (2008). An overview of general features of risk assessments of genetically modified crops. Euphytica 164, 853–880.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Department of Agriculture, South Africa (2004). Guideline document for work with genetically modified organisms. [Online]. Available from www.nda.agric.za/doaDev/sideMenu/biosafety/doc/GUIDELINE4WORKwithGOM.pdfGoogle Scholar
European Commission (1997). Commission recommendation of 29 July 1997 concerning the scientific aspects and the presentation of information necessary to support applications for the placing on the market of novel foods and novel food ingredients and the preparation of initial assessment reports under Regulation (EC) No. 258/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council (97/618/EC). Official Journal of the European Union L253, 1–36.Google Scholar
European Commission (2003). Guidance document for the risk assessment of genetically modified plants and derived food and feed. The Joint Working Group on Novel Foods and GMOs. Brussels: European Commission.Google Scholar
European Commission (2004). Genetically modified crops in the EU: food safety assessment, regulation, and public concerns – overarching report. [Online]. Available from https://orbilu.uni.lu/bitstream/10993/12409/1/K%C3%B6nig%20A.%20et%20All%20Genetically%20modified%20crops%20in%20the%20EU%20Food%20safety%20assessment,%20regulation,%20and%20public%20assessment.pdfGoogle Scholar
European Food Safety Authority (2006). Risk assessment of genetically modified plants and derived food and feed. Guidance document of the scientific panel on genetically modified organisms of the European Food Safety Authority. EFSA Journal 99, 1–100.Google Scholar
European Food Safety Authority (2008). Safety and nutritional assessment of GM plants and derived food and feed: the role of animal feeding trials. Report of the EFSA GMO Panel Working Group on Animal Feeding Trials. Food and Chemical Toxicology 46, S2–S70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ezezika, O. C. et al. (2012). Factors influencing agbiotech adoption and development in sub-Saharan Africa. Nature Biotechnology 30, 38–40.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
FAO (1996). Report of a joint FAO/WHO consultation, 30 September–4 October, 1996. FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 61. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.Google Scholar
FAO/WHO (2005). National food safety systems in Africa – a situation analysis, CAF 05/2. FAO/WHO Regional Conference on Food Safety for Africa, Harare, Zimbabwe, 3–6 October 2005.Google Scholar
FAO/WHO (2006). Food safety and nutrition food laws and guidelines. [Online]. Available from www.afro.who.int/en/clusters-a-programmes/hpr/food-safety-and-nutrition-fan/fan-publications.htmlGoogle Scholar
Gbadegesin, M. A. et al. (2013). African cassava: biotechnology and molecular breeding to the rescue. British Biotechnology Journal 3, 305–317.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Global Environment Facility (2006). Evaluation of GEF support for biosafety. [Online]. Available from https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/7034Google Scholar
Howlett, J. et al. (2003). The safety assessment of novel foods and concepts to determine their safety in use. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition 54, S1–S32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
James, C. 2015. Global status of commercialised biotech/GM crops: 2015. ISAAA Brief No. 51. Ithaca, NY: The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications.Google Scholar
Jansen van Rijssen, F. W. et al. (2013). Food safety: importance of composition for assessing genetically modified cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz). Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 61, 8333–8339.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jonas, D. A. et al. (1996). The safety assessment of novel foods. Guidelines prepared by the ILSI Europe Novel Food Task Force. Food and Chemical Toxicology 34, 931–940.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Juma, C. and Serageldin, I. (2007). Freedom to innovate: biotechnology in Africa's development. (Report of the High-Level African Panel on Modern Biotechnology). [Online]. Available from http://belfercenterre.ksg.harvard.edu/files/freedom_innovate_au-nepad_aug2007.pdfGoogle Scholar
Morris, E. J. (2014). Biosafety regulatory systems in Africa. In Biosafety in Africa: Experiences and Best Practices, ed. Keetch, D. P. et al. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press, pp. 64–77.Google Scholar
Mwamakamba, L. et al. (2012). Developing and maintaining national food safety control systems: experiences from the WHO African Region. African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development 12, 6291–6304.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nang'ayo, F. et al. (2014). Regulatory challenges for GM crops in developing economies: the African experience. Transgenic Research 23, 1049–1055.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Obonyo, D. N. et al. (2011). Identified gaps in biosafety knowledge and expertise in Sub-Saharan Africa. AgBioForum 14, 71–82.Google Scholar
OECD (1993). Safety Evaluation of Foods Derived by Modern Biotechnology: Concepts and Principles. Paris: OECD.Google Scholar
OECD (1998). OECD documents: report of the OECD workshop on the toxicological and nutritional testing of novel foods, SG/ICGB(1998)1. Paris: OECD.Google Scholar
OECD (2009). Consensus document on compositional considerations for new varieties of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz): key food and feed nutrients, anti-nutrients, toxicants and allergens. Series on the Safety of Novel Foods and Feeds, No. 18. Paris: OECD.Google Scholar
Roberts, A. F. et al. (2015). Biosafety research for non-target organism risk assessment of RNAi-based GE plants. Frontiers in Plant Science 6, 958; doi: 10.3389/fpls.2015.00958.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Taylor, N. J. et al. (2012). The VIRCA Project: virus resistant cassava for Africa. GM Crops and Food 3(2), 1–11.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Timpo, S. E. (2011). Harmonizing biosafety regulations in Africa: surmounting the hurdles. Socio-economics Policy Brief No. 2. [Online]. Available from http://nepad-abne.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Policy-Brief-No-2_Harmonisation-of-Biosafety-Regulations-_Finalized.pdfGoogle Scholar
USDA-FAS (2015). Africa contemplates establishing continental food safety body. GAIN Report No. ET1502. [Online]. Available from https://gain.fas.usda.gov/Recent%20GAIN%20Publications/Africa%20Contemplates%20Establishing%20Continental%20Food%20Safety%20Body_Addis%20Ababa_Ethiopia_2-26-2015.pdfGoogle Scholar
USFDA (1992). Statement of policy – foods derived from new plant varieties. Federal Register 57, 22984 (29 May).Google Scholar
Waithaka, M. et al. (2015). Progress and challenges for implementation of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa policy on biotechnology and biosafety. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology 3, 109; doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2015.00109.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wedding, K. and Tuttle, J. N. (2013). Pathway to Productivity: The Role of GMOs for Food Security in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. A Report of the CSIS Global Food Security Project. Lantham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.Google Scholar
WHO (1991). Strategies for Assessing the Safety of Foods Produced by Biotechnology. Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
WHO (1995). Application of the principles of substantial equivalence to the safety evaluation of foods and food components from plants derived from modern biotechnology. Report of WHO Workshop WHO/FNU/FOS/95.1. Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
WHO (2000). Safety aspects of genetically modified foods of plant origin. Report of a Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on Foods Derived from Biotechnology, May 29–June 2, 1996, Rome, Italy. Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
WHO (2015). Frequently asked questions on GM foods. [Online]. Available from www.who.int/foodsafety/areas_work/food-technology/faq-genetically-modified-food/en/Google Scholar
WTO (1998). Understanding the WTO Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. [Online]. Available from https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/sps_e/spsund_e.htmGoogle Scholar