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ENGA Newsletter No. 21: July 2024

Dear Readers,

The Hungarian EU Presidency has taken over the dossier on New GMOs, featuring important issues for the European food industry in its “non-paper on the main issues”, such as traceability, labelling and detection methods. It’s therefore the ideal time to join 200+ companies and to sign the open letter “Food businesses for freedom of choice” in order to bring these topics to the attention of EU Agriculture Ministers!

Our second article is also about traceability, labelling and detection methods. Odd-Gunnar Wikmark, researcher at NORCE (Norwegian Research Centre), and project coordinator of DARWIN, presents - in an interview with ENGA - what his team wants to achieve by 2027: validated detection systems for plant-based NGTs. As an industry that relies on such research, we are keeping our fingers crossed and will continue to report.

“Award-winning, sustainable dairy with a commitment to Non-GMO” is the title of our portrait of Berchtesgadener Land, through an interview with Bernhard Pointner, the Managing Director. And with so much conviction and commitment, it is of course no coincidence that Berchtesgadener Land is one of the companies that initiated the open letter… 

It only remains for me to draw your attention to our early bird rate for the Non-GMO Summit in Frankfurt/Germany the 7 and 8 October 2024, which is valid until 31 July. I would be delighted to meet you there.

Please support us by distributing this newsletter within your network. To regularly receive our newsletter and get all the latest updates on Non-GMO in Europe, subscribe. Also keep in touch with ENGA by following us on LinkedIn and X.

Please feel free to inform your partners and networks about the work and goals of ENGA, and to increase our strength on the European market and towards the European regulatory bodies by having as many business platforms and companies as possible join our cause Membership Benefits.

We wish our readers a relaxing summer holiday and we will return in September with our next newsletter. 

Kind regards, 
Heike Moldenhauer
Secretary General
 

Food businesses for freedom of choice: Time is ticking to sign an open letter to EU Agriculture Ministers

How New GMOs (New Genomic Techniques or NGTs) will be regulated at the EU level remains unclear. All eyes are now on the Hungarian Council Presidency - will they make progress in the negotiations with national agriculture ministers, especially on key issues like traceability and labelling of NGTs across the value chain? 

Have your voice heard on this vital topic, write to EU agriculture ministers  - and join the 200+ companies across Europe that have already signed the open letter!

Interview with Odd-Gunnar Wikmark, project coordinator of DARWIN – a New GMO detection research project

One of the main stumbling blocks for the labelling and transparency of New GMOs is their detection. But good news may be on the horizon. ENGA interviews Odd-Gunnar Wikmark, project coordinator of DARWIN, a recently launched EU-funded project which is seeking to develop detection systems for plant-based NGT products. It is early days in the project, but Mr Wikmark is optimistic of making progress towards the final goal of NGTs being fully detectable in food and feed. 

Read the interview to find out more and to hear even more insight from Mr Wikmark, be sure to sign up for the International Non-GMO Summit where he will be a speaker. 

Award-winning, sustainable dairy with a commitment to Non-GMO

Berchtesgadener Land, a cooperative dairy in Upper Bavaria, Germany, has over 1,600 farmers and has been in operation for over 100 years. The dairy prides itself on its sustainable credentials and the priority that it places on protecting the natural environment. And, in that respect, it has been pushing boundaries for decades, with one example the strong commitment it has to producing without GMOs. We have a portrait of the dairy, via an interview with its Managing Director, Bernhard Pointer. 

European Non-GMO Industry Association

ENGA (AISBL)
Rue du Trône 194
1050 Ixelles
Belgium

Telephone: +32 493 3354 91
Email: info(at)enga(dot)org
Website: www.enga.org