STATUS REQUEST FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY

UNCLAS ROME 004642

SIPDIS


STATE PASS USDA
USDA FOR FAS/IT/EAMED AND O/A JONES;
ITP/FSTS/RICHEY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAGR EU IT EUN
SUBJECT: STATUS REQUEST FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY
REGULATIONS

REF: UNCLASS STATE 263456


1. Summary Italy's biotech regime is
subject to EU legislation. Italy is more
restrictive than EU laws in some instances.
With the exception of corn, banned under the
Amato Decree, Italy follows EU policies on
agricultural biotechnology. For seeds for
planting, the absence of an EU agreed law on
biotech adventitious presence (AP) in
conventional seeds has allowed Italy freedom
to make its own determination. Italy has a
zero tolerance for AP in conventional seeds.


2. Regarding seeds, the main authority in
Italy is the Ministry of Agriculture, which
is entitled to register any seed variety
with the National Register. The Ministry,
too, adopts its own policy in establishing
the tolerance level for adventitious
presence of GM seeds in conventional lots.
Currently, in the absence of an EU
regulation on this matter, the Italian
Ministry of Agriculture has autonomously
fixed a zero tolerance level.


3. Regarding foods and feeds, the enforcing
authority is the Ministry of Health, which
implements the several EU rules already in
force in this wide sector.


4. The Amato Decree bans four EU-approved
biotech corn varieties. It was adopted in
August, 2000 and has been enforced to impede
seeds for planting as well as to impede
imports of corn for feed.


5. Regarding processed foods, the EU-agreed
Traceability and Labeling (T&L) and Food and
Feed (F&F) regulations are expected to be
signed by the end of October and published
in the official gazette immediately after
signing. Please refer to EU reporting on
the levels of tolerance and ingredient
percentages which must be labeled, and for
provisions about EU-approved versus
partially reviewed but not approved events.
Once T&L and F&F come into effect in 2004
Italy will be obligated to follow them but
there is yet little evidence that the GOI's
Ministry of Health and the Ministry of
Productive Activities are going to be
proactive in the task. With regard to food
ingredients therefore, the application of
these new regulations will be determined by
Italian food industries' ability to either
reformulate without biotech ingredients, to
formulate as they do now but label according
to the new regulations, or even to ignore
the regulations. The important question
will be how the GOI enforces this. In the
interim, the current labeling regime is in
place. Only food with ingredients
containing more than 1% biotech content must
be labeled.


6. Contact information:

Giuseppe Ambrosio, Chief of the Department
for Food Safety and Food Quality
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Via XX Settembre,
00187 - Rome, Italy
FAX 39-06-481-9714 alternative
fax 39-06-482-4259

Dr. Maria Severina Liberati,
Department of Controlled Organisms and
Quality Certification
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Via XX Settembre, 20
00187 - Rome, Italy
Telephone 39-06-4665-6082

Dr. Ferdinando Di Maio, Vegetative
Production and Seed Certification and Seed
Registry,
Control of Propagation Materials
Minstry of Agriculture and Forestry


Via XX Settembre, 20
00187 Rome, Italy
Tel: 39-06-4665-4054

Dr. Romano Marabelli,
Director General
Department of Food and Nutrition for
Veterinary Health and Food Safety
Ministry of Health
Piazzale Marconi 25
00144 EUR-Roma
Tel: 39-06-5994-6946

MONITORING AND ENFORCING

Monitoring has been stringent for seeds,
both domestically produced and, at a greater
extent, imported. During the last three
planting seasons the Ministry of Agriculture
has established a zero tolerance level for
the adventitious presence of GM material in
conventional seed lots. No GM varieties are
allowed for planting in Italy.

This has created a growing series of
problems for both seed companies and
farmers. Last summer, in particular, there
have been cases of seed seizures, field
seizures, and in some instances crop
destruction in fields where seeds were
tested and found positive after PCR testing.
No particular penalty is fixed by law, but
is decided by the magistrates on a case-by-
case basis. In August 2003 these actions led
the GOI Ministry of Agriculture to call a
meeting to draw up a testing protocol and
agreement signed by U.S. seed companies
Pioneer and Monsanto and representatives of
Italian regional governments. As a result of
the seizures of cornfields and threats of
legal entanglements, the seed companies
agreed to compensate farmers for corn
harvested from fields in certain regions
signatory to this agreement. On Aug. 18 the
agreement was signed by representatives of
the regional governments of Lombardy,
Veneto, Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, and Emilia
Romagna, three farmers' organizations, and
the two U.S. seed companies. In the region
of Piedmont sequestered fields were
destroyed before testing for alleged biotech
material could confirm whether viable seeds
had sprouted and grown among the
conventional plants. In this case farmers
were compensated by the regional government
of Piedmont.

SEEDS FOR PLANTING


8. Due to the Italian seed regulations,
seed lots are regularly tested. It appears
that the Italian authorities have tested on
a random basis, collecting samples from the
lots to be inspected.

DOCUMENTATION


9. The EU has adopted Food and Feed
legislation, agreed at the EU level in July

2003.

For seeds, no documentation pertains to
biotech seeds, given the prohibition to
plant genetically engineer seeds up to the
present. Sembler


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2003ROME04642 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED