On December 27, 2013, FAS Ankara learned that the Turkish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MinFAL) acted December 24, 2013 on a decision by Turkey's High Court to repeal the approval of MON810 and MON88017xMON810 for animal feed. (For more information on the court case, please refer to GAIN Report “Turkey Rejects Two Approved Biotech Maize Traits” dated December 19, 2013.)
The two repealed traits will be added to the list of unapproved traits port officials test for at import. Turkey conducts a positive/negative test, and if positive, tests for each of the unapproved traits. Post understands that the ports will test for MON810 only, as MON88017 remains an approved trait; as opposed to MON88017xMON810, which is a stacked trait.
Turkish industry contacts have expressed concern about the decision as it sets a precedent for future possible challenges to existing approvals that include 14 genetically engineered (GE) corn traits for feed use and 3 GE soybean traits. Turkey has yet to approve any GE traits in human food products.
