Monsanto, Aventis to bid for GM canola production

Monsanto has confirmed that it is getting ready to file its submission for commercial production of its GM Roundup Ready canola variety to the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR).

According to Monsanto spokesman Brian Arnst, the submission is awaiting final approval from the company. He expects filing to take place in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, Monsanto is still running field trials on the GM crop, he said.

Arnst said that the recent decision by the Gene Technology Ministerial Council to start work on a policy allowing State governments to declare GM or GM-free designated areas would not impact Monsanto at this point in time.

"The states had asked for this when the gene technology legislation was formed," said Arnst. He added that it would probably take some time for the policy and legislation to be developed.

Aventis CropScience is also preparing to file a submission for commercial release of its GM canola variety.

"There will be a process of consultation and formulation to come up with the policy. We hope to be part of that process," said Naomi Stevens, the public affairs manager for Aventis CropScience.

While the approval process is legislated to take at least 170 days, Stevens says that it could take a year for approval to be granted, due to the need for community consultation.

"The important thing for us is to make a very comprehensive submission," she said.

In other developments, the Australia New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA) has announced that the ministers responsible for food standards have agreed to ANZFA's recommendation that the use of glyphosphate-tolerant corn line NK603 in food products in Australia and New Zealand be approved.

NK603 corn is one of Monsanto's Roundup Ready GM corn varieties. While GM corn is not produced commercially in Australia, this approval means that imports and sale of foods containing ingredients derived from the GM corn variety will be allowed in Australia and New Zealand.