EU allows imports of four GMO crop varieties

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union has authorized imports of four genetically modified (GMO) crop products for sale across its 27 national markets for the next 10 years, the European Commission said on Wednesday.

Three of the GMO products are maize types, two of them hybrids, and the fourth is a sugar beet. None would be grown in Europe but would be imported for use in food and animal feed.

The decision is allowed under a legal default process that kicks in when EU ministers cannot agree among themselves after three months. In September, ministers failed to reach a consensus agreement under the EU weighted voting system.

"The authorizations are valid for 10 years, and any products produced from these GMOs will be subject to the EU's strict labeling and traceability rules," the Commission said.

The first maize, known commercially as Herculex RW and also by its codename 59122, is jointly made by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, a subsidiary of DuPont Co, and Dow AgroSciences unit Mycogen Seeds.

Herculex is designed to protect against larval stages of corn rootworm, which eats through plant roots and so reduces yield and nutrients. It also resists the active herbicide ingredient glufosinate-ammonium.

The same companies developed a maize hybrid called 1507/NK603 to resist field pests like the European corn borer, as well as glufosinate-ammonium and glyphosate herbicides.

"Today's approval is encouraging and we look forward to continued progress in the EU biotech approval process," Dean Oestreich, DuPont vice president and general manager and president of Pioneer Hi-Bred, said in a statement.

"We urge the Commission to ensure similar treatment for cultivation applications so that Europe's farmers can enjoy the same benefits as millions of other farmers around the world."