I work in EFSA, the European Food Safety Authority.

I'm here today to talk to you about the work we do

on genetically modified organisms, and why we do this work.

Let's start from the beginning of the story.

What is a genetically modified organism?

It is an organism in which the genetic material

has been altered or changed in a way that does not occur naturally.

And by naturally, we mean, for example in the case of GM plant

when we combine a father plant with a mother plant to obtain a new plant.

Scientists are developing many different types

of GM plants to achieve different objectives.

For example, they have developed plants which are called

‘drought-resistant’, meaning that they can

survive well also when water availability is quite limited.

Other types of plants are called ‘insect-resistant’,

and this is the example we will be using today to explain a few things.

Here you see two drawings – we have the non-GM maize plant

and we have the GM maize plant.

What's the difference between the two?

On the non-GM maize plant we have insects that can feed on it – on its leaves

– whereas these are absent here because this plant is resistant

and the insects cannot feed on its leaves.

Now what is the job of EFSA?

The job of EFSA is to assess whether this plant

is as safe as this one – the non-GM counterpart.

Now the question is how does EFSA do this assessment?

Using a comparative approach, which is basically a comparison between

the GM plant and its conventional counterpart.

We do that by asking a whole series of questions.

For example, is this plant as nutritious as the non-GM counterpart

for animal and humans when used in food and feed?

Another question: does this plant cause any allergic reaction

in humans or animals when used, in comparison to the non-GM counterpart?

Or is this plant toxic for animals or humans in comparison to their

non-GM counterpart when used?

In addition to that, we also ask a whole series of questions

to assess whether this plant causes any harm to the environment when cultivated.

After we collect all this amount of scientific information,

we use it to compile a document which in EFSA we call a scientific opinion,

and this scientific opinion is then delivered to policymakers.

This document contains all the information

and the evaluation of the safety of the GM plant.

In such respect, EFSA is not in favour nor against GMOs

because it does purely a scientific work,

and its opinion is used then by policymakers who are

the ones ultimately responsible for the decision-making process

and can authorise or not a GM plant on the European market.

Thank you.