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IMPLEMENTATION OF EC REGULATIONS 1829/2003 AND 1830/2003 ON GM FOOD AND FEED FOR GELLAN GUM
February 2005
In response to questions regarding the GMO aspects of gellan gum, Biopolymer International is providing the following information.
Gellan
gum is an extracellular polysaccharide secreted by the natural strain
of the bacterium Pseudomonas elodea
according to the definition given in Directive 98/86/EC on purity criteria
for food additives. The gellan gum manufacturing process consists mainly
in a fermentation step in contained use followed by extraction and purification.
Pseudomonas
elodea, the micro-organism used to produce Gellan Gum, is
NOT a genetically modified organism as defined in Directive 90/219/EEC(1)
as amended and in Directive 2001/18/EC(2).
Some
of the organic nutrients may be derived from crops for which genetically
modified variants may be available besides the conventional ones(3).
In any event, the nutrients are metabolized during fermentation and their
residues are removed during the extraction and purification steps.
Recital
16 of Regulation (EC) 1829/2003 draws a distinction between products made
with a GMO and products made from
a GMO, the former being generally exempt from labelling whilst the latter
are not. Gellan gum marketed by members of Biopolymer International fall
into the former category. Furthermore, the EC Commission (DG SANCO) has
indicated that "substances produced by fermentation of micro-organisms
do not fall in the scope of the legislation (authorisation and labelling)
if produced from a conventional micro-organism, irrespective whether the
substrate used for this fermentation is genetically modified or not"(4).
Considering the aforementioned information, Biopolymer International interprets that gellan gum is neither subject to the authorisation requirements of Regulation (EC) 1829/2003 of 22 September 2003 nor to the specific traceability and labelling requirements of the Regulation (EC) 1830/2003 of 22 September 2003.
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