Print

Serious flaws in application for genetically modified grapevine field trial

16 October 2006

About 74% of wine and grape producers, distributors and marketers polled were not aware of an application from Stellenbosch University’s Institute of Wine Biotechnology to conduct a field trial with genetically modified (GM) grapevines in Stellenbosch – South Africa’s wine producing heartland. This emerged from a telephonic poll of wine estates in Stellenbosch which Biowatch South Africa conducted last Friday.

Of the wine producers, distributors and marketers polled who were aware of the application, 50% were very concerned about it. “This technology is not appropriate to have in South Africa,” said a group manager of one of South Africa’s premier wine companies during the poll.

Biowatch South Africa has lodged an objection to the application with the Registrar of Genetic Resources because:

• The application has inadequate monitoring and assessment to prevent contamination and damage to the environment. The application mentions the use of netting to shield the GM plants from the wider environment but does not not mention the size of the netting. There also does not appear to be measures to contain decomposing plant material and the proposed method of bagging flowers will not be able to ensure that pollen from the GM plants is contained.
• There are significant discrepancies in the public notice and the application to the Registrar of Genetic Resources. For example, the public notice does not mention that the GM grapevines will contain an additional marker gene which is antibiotic resistant.
• The field trial is meant to test the stability of the GM grapevines but the methods proposed to do this will not achieve this.
• The exact purpose of testing the stability of the GM grapevines is not revealed.
• The highly technical language in which the notice is written makes it difficult for meaningful public engagement and assessment about the value of the application.

The African Centre for Biosafety and Earthlife Africa are among other organisations which have lodged objections to the field trial application.

For more information, please contact Leslie Liddell, Biowatch South Africa director on 021 447 5939 or 073 307 8873.

To read Biowatch South Africa’s objection in full, click here.

« Back