The
long-running saga started in 2015 when a group of French
agricultural associations took their grievance to a French
court, saying plant varieties obtained via mutagenesis should
not be exempt from GMO rules under French law.
The French court subsequently sought advice from the
Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
"Organisms obtained by the in vitro application of a
technique/method of mutagenesis which has conventionally been
used in a number of in vivo applications and has a long safety
record with regard to those applications are excluded from the
scope of that directive," the CJEU said.
In vitro gene editing technique means the mutagenic agents are
applied to plant cells and the whole plant is then artificially
reconstituted while in vivo, the mutagenic agents are applied to
the whole plant or plant parts.
Environmentalists, anti-GM groups and farmers have said allowing
gene editing would usher in a new era of "GMO 2.0" via the
backdoor.
The bioindustry however argued that gene editing could result in
hardier and more nutritious crops - as well as offering drug
companies new ways to fight human disease.
The case is C-688/21 Confédération paysanne e.a. (Mutagenèse
aléatoire in vitro).
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, Editing by Louise Heavens)
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