US embassy cable - 03ROME4642

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