The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) released a scientific opinion
on the existing guidelines for food and feed risk assessment of
genetically modifiedplants developed using synthetic biology.

EFSA defines synthetic biology (synbio) as an interdisciplinary field at
the interface of molecular engineering and biology aiming to develop new
biological systems and impart new functions to living cells, tissues,
and organisms. It has potential applications in agri-food systems, thus,
products derived from synbio require pre-market permit based on the
GMOlegislation of the European Union (EU). The European Commission
defined terms of reference and hypothetical case studies to evaluate the
adequacy and sufficiency of the current guidelines for food and feed
risk assessment of GM plants developed using synbio.

The EFSA GMO Panel concluded the following:

* previous conclusions on new sectors/advances in the agri-food system
among synbio GM plant developments are still applicable;
* no novel potential hazards and risks for humans and animals could be
posed by food and feed from GM plants developed from current and
near-future synbio approaches identified;
* the existing guidelines are adequate and sufficient in some synbio
applications; and
* safety assessment of new proteins and comparative analysis need
updating.

Based on these conclusions, the GMO Panel recommends that future
guidance documents provide indications on how to integrate the knowledge
available from the synbio design and modeling in the food and feed risk
assessment. It also encourages due consideration of food and feed safety
aspects to facilitate the assessment of synbio BM plantsand lessen the
amount of data required.

[www.efsa.europa.eu]