Testing impacts of toxic compounds from transgenic crops on non-target arthropods in tier-1 studies: exposure and response

The assessment of potential adverse effects on non-target organisms is an important consideration in the environmental risk assessment carried out as part of the regulatory approval process of an insect-resistant GM crop. Whether there are such potential effects is studied in the laboratory (and in the field).

In recent years, several scientific publications have appeared with conflicting results despite the fact that research groups use the same organisms and the same GM material. The discussion is mainly focused on the question of whether the experiments were carried out in the correct manner. Therefore COGEM examined what criteria laboratory experiments with non-target organisms must meet to achieve results that are valuable for risk analysis.

The criteria described in this report provide important tools for scientists how to carry out experiments in a correct manner. The criteria are used as a framework by which COGEM assesses the results of such NTO experiments.