Genome-edited plants as safe as conventional plants, says EFSA

摘要

New genome editing techniques that modify the DNA of plants do not pose more hazards than conventional plant breeding or techniques that introduce new DNA into a plant, says the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Its new scientific opinion considers the assessment of type 1 and type 2 site-directed nucleases (SDN-1 and SDN-2) and oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis (ODM). Existing guidance on the risk assessment of genetically modified plants remains appropriate for these new techniques, although less data might be needed due to the absence of new DNA, the EFSA says.