Field tests cleared

a recent report released by an expert committee recommended that France should continue testing new genetically modified (gm) organisms in open fields. However, the advisory committee -- comprising representatives from food and scientific groups -- cautioned that such testing must be done under better supervision and in a transparent way.

"We are not against open-field testing. We need tests, experiments, but with effective controls and more transparency," said Jean-Yves Le Deaut, president of the French parliamentary group on scientific choices.

The advisors asked the French government to ensure that French gm crops do not spread to neighbouring conventional and organic farms, Le Deaut said. Experiments should otherwise be performed in enclosed sites, he said.