Illegal GM petunias show disregard for regulation

Comment (8 May 2017)

Press contact: Liz O'Neill, 07811 211 404 liz[at]gmfreeze.org

Commenting on the news that unauthorised genetically modified petunias have been found for sale in the UK, Liz O’Neill, Director of GM Freeze said today:

Regardless of whether or not these particular GM plants pose an immediate threat to people, animals or the environment, they have spread across the UK market unlabelled and unnoticed. That shows a horrifying disregard for regulation which needs to be thoroughly investigated.

DNA is not lego and GM controls are not an optional extra, whether you are growing food, flowers or anything else. Altering the genome can cause all sorts of unexpected effects so GM plants are not allowed onto the market without proper testing. Even then they must be labelled because consumers have a right to choose GM-free.”

NOTES TO EDITOR

We first saw this story in Horticulture Week, where the Horticultural Trades Association admitted that “We do not know how widespread they are in the UK supply chain.”  The GM bedding plants are all orange in colour.