MOSCOW, April 3 (RIA Novosti) – The certification of non-agricultural genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) could be restricted to ten years, according to a draft law by Russia’s Ministry of Education and Science revealed on Thursday.
Previously, such certification was unlimited in duration. Certificates of state registration of GMOs, as well as products containing GMOs, will be valid for up to ten years under the legislation.
The draft document proposes a separate system of registration for GMO crops.
In February, the State Duma introduced a bill banning the cultivation of GMO food products. Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said that a government decree legalizing GMO crops would be corrected.
President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian citizens to be protected from genetically modified foods. He noted that this could be done while complying with obligations of the World Trade Organization.
Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance has repeatedly stated that the health of seeds is the basis of food security of the Russian Federation. The Office notes that the development, testing and seed production of GMO crops were monopolized by multinational corporations, that may be artificially restricting access to data on the adverse effects of the widespread of such products.