[Nutrition and health--genetically modified food]

The genetically modified (GM) crops cultivated at present have new properties of benefit to agriculture. It is expected that in the future GM crops will also be cultivated with more complex genetic modifications that are aimed at improving the nutritional and health value to the consumer. The safety assessment of GM foods before market approval is based on a comparison of the characteristics of the GM food with those of the conventional counterpart. Identified differences are thoroughly tested for their toxicological and nutritional consequences. Supplementary modern analytical techniques are being developed for the assessment of future complex GM foods. No cases of adverse health or nutritional effects in consumers have been reported for the existing generation of GM foods. The feasibility of post-market surveillance of (GM) foods, in order to identify small or chronic effects that have not been noticed in the pre-market phase, is being investigated, yet its value should not be overestimated. Surveillance can be informative in case of specific questions concerning certain products as long as the consumer intake is well documented. To this end traceability and labelling systems must be set up.