EFSA gave positive opinion for Dow’s Widestrike™ Roundup Ready Flex™ Cotton

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently gave  positive scientific opinion on an application by Dow Agrosciences for placing its three-traits stack cotton, Widestrike™ Roundup Ready Flex™ Cotton (Event name: 281-24-236 × 3006-210-23 × MON 88913), on the market for food and feed uses, import and processing under Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003.
 

Widestrike™ Roundup Ready Flex™ Cotton was developed to confer resistance against certain lepidopteran target pests and tolerance to glyphosate-based herbicides. Resistance to lepidopteran target pests is achieved by the expression of Cry1Ac and Cry1F. Tolerance to glyphosate is achieved by expression of the CP4 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (CP4 EPSPS). In addition, this cotton also expresses the phosphinothricin acetyltransferase (PAT) protein which confers tolerance to glufosinate ammonium-based herbicides.
 

The Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms of the EFSA (GMO Panel) previously assessed the three single events combined to produce a three-event stack cotton 281-24-236 × 3006-210-23 × MON 88913 and did not identify safety concerns. 
 

In this opinion, the GMO Panel assesses only the three-event stack cotton. No new data on the single events, leading to modification of the original conclusions on their safety, were identified. The combination of cotton events 281-24-236, 3006-210-23 and MON 88913 in the three-event stack cotton did not give rise to issues – based on the molecular, agronomic, phenotypic or compositional characteristics – regarding food and feed safety and nutrition. The combination of the newly expressed proteins in the three-event stack cotton did not raise concerns for human and animal health. Considering the introduced traits and the outcome of the comparative analysis, the routes of exposure and limited exposure levels, the GMO Panel concludes that this three-event stack cotton would not raise safety concerns in case of accidental release of viable cottonseeds into the environment. The post-market environmental monitoring plans provided by the applicant are in line with the scope of the three-event stack cotton. No post-market monitoring of food/feed derived from the three-event stack cotton is considered necessary. 
 

The GMO Panel concludes that the three-event stack cotton is as safe and as nutritious as its conventional counterpart in the context of its scope.