The EU Food and Feed Chain partners have expressed their relief at yesterday's decision of the European Parliament to reject the European Commission's trade-distorting proposals aimed at allowing EU member states to opt-out from authorised Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) for food and feed uses in the EU. The coalition strongly opposes the proposal and calls on the EU Commission to withdraw it.

MEPs questioned the legality of the Commission's proposals.

According to the EU Food and Chain partners, providing member states with the possibility to impose national bans on EU-approved GMOs is in clear contradiction with the core principles of the EU's internal market.

By allowing scientific findings on the safety of products to be overruled by non-science-based restrictions on the free movement of goods, the Commission would be setting a dangerous precedent - added to the legalised restrictions on GMO cultivation - that would severely undermine the reliability of the European food and feed chain.

The partners stress this proposal would result in substantial commercial and legal risks for operators, condemning them to overly-high costs and undue trade disruptions.

SNP MEP Alyn Smith, who sits on the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee, said: "The GM authorisation process is a tricky beast, and I understand the need to reform it. Authorisations proceed despite flawed risk assessments, the opposition of EU governments, and the objection of a majority of EU citizens.

"But we threw out the proposal because it would have given no legal certainty to member states opting out of GMO authorisations. As a lawyer to trade, I know a legally dubious guddle when I see it, and that's exactly what we sent back to the Commission."

Market round-up

Lawrie & Symington Ltd held a sale of store cattle in Lanark on Tuesday when 219 Continental cross heifers sold to 243.6p per kg and averaged 197.8p, while 33 native-bred heifers levelled at 193.3p. Two-hundred-and-fifty-nine Continental cross bullocks sold to 277.8p and averaged 202.6p, while 52 native-bred bullocks levelled at 194.2p. Sixty-eight dairy-bred bullocks averaged 131.2p.

Messrs Craig Wilson Ltd had 1154 prime lambs forward in Newton Stewart yesterday that weighed an average of 45.2kg and sold to a top of £66 per head and 157.4p per kg to level at 131.4p (-7.8p on the week). The 582 SQQ (Standard Quality Quotation) lambs averaged 139.9p, while the 572 that weighed 44kg and above averaged an incredible 49.6kg and levelled at 121.8p.

The 566 cast sheep met an easier trade with ewes selling to £69 for Texels and £50 for Blackfaces.