England bans safety testing for new GMOs
New legislation strips away vital safeguards on genetically engineered plants
The Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 exempts so-called “Precision Bred” Genetically Modified Organisms (PB-GMOs) from the regulations that govern traditional GMOs. The government claims that these organisms are no more risky than conventionally-bred ones.
The Regulations, which bring the GenTech Act into force, were signed into law in May 2025. Campaigners were surprised to discover that they contained a “nasty clause”—one that had not previously been disclosed, which was well-buried in the 39-page document.
It stipulates that the Secretary of State “must… not apply any test in connection with these requirements which would not otherwise be applicable in relation to any food or feed produced from organisms which are not produced from the application of modern biotechnology”.
In effect, it forbids government agencies from requiring any tests on PB-GMOs that aren’t applied to conventional crops. According to GM Watch: “This is an extraordinary stipulation. It assumes, without requiring confirmatory testing, that PB-GMOs are completely equivalent to traditionally-bred organisms. And worryingly, it bans the regulator from ever finding out that the genetic engineering processes used to create the PB-GMO have caused unintended changes that could endanger human or animal health or the environment.”
Professor Michael Antoniou, of King’s College London, warned that the government was tying regulators’ hands behind their backs. “Any responsible scientist would be horrified,” he said.
Furthermore, the law gives the Secretary of State the power to authorise PB-GMOs if it merely “appears” they pose no risks. This wording is dangerously subjective, and placing human and environmental health in the hands of individual ministers, without risk assessment processes in place, is irresponsible.
Traceability rules have also been dismantled. This virtually guarantees that any health or environmental harms will be impossible to trace back to their source.
The legislation is a gift to biotech companies and a betrayal of the public interest. By discarding oversight and transparency, the UK has positioned itself as an outlier, taking a high-risk gamble with food safety and environmental protection.
This article first appeared in the GM Freeze newsletter, Thin Ice, issue 69.
