At the end of 2006, frightening information was transmitted by a national television station in Bulgaria. Maize and soy products produced in the country were found to be genetically modified. All of them. In an attempt to find out if this is true, The Sofia Echo's Elitsa Grancharova takes a deeper look at the issue.

The genetically modified organisms (GMO) issue in Bulgaria became more evident at the end of 2005, when discussions around a new law on GMOs arose in the social sphere. The draft bill for the GMO law was prepared and passed with several amendments, while in the Law for Foods were included orders regulating the issues concerning GMOs.

Simultaneously, NGOs and specialists in the field organised numerous discussions and informational campaigns. The coalition Bulgaria - GMO-Free Zone (BGMOFZ) was created.

Under the pressure and by intervention of the coalition in the MPs' work, and due to public opinion against GMOs, some of the clauses in the new law were changed. President Georgi Purvanov ratified the texts asked for by Bulgarian anti-GMO NGOs, but there was no moratorium on GMOs, as BGMOFZ wished.

Currently, the only protection for Bulgaria's population and nature from the threats of GM foods is administered by several state organisations. The Ministry of Environment and Water Affairs (MOEW) is in charge of issuing permission for growing of GMOs, experimenting with them, and registering of premises for cultivating GMOs. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry manages control over fields and fodder. Food control is done by the Regional Inspectorate for Public Health Protection and Control within the Ministry of Health.

In the field of foods, in November 2006, MOEW formed the Committee on New and Genetically Modified Foods, which is in charge of the preliminary assessments of permission requests for selling foods containing GMOs and of sending the documentation for approval to the European Commission.

In spite of the Law on Foods, which bans GMOs for which there is no special permission issued, such exist and are sold to uninformed consumers, Za Zemyata GMO campaign co-ordinator Ivailo Popov said to The Sofia Echo.

In August 2006, two BGMOFZ NGOs - Za Zemyata ecological association (zazemyata.org) and Mayday Foundation Varna (maydayfoundation.hit.bg) - together with the Varna Social Environmental Centre ordered laboratory tests on 10 groups of products that can be bought at Bulgarian markets: five groups of products containing soy, and five groups containing maize.

The tests were conducted in the laboratory SGS using the Real Time PCR method, which is the most reliable at present.

The results of the tests showed that the products that do not contain GMOs were all the maize products tested - cornmeal and flour, canned corn and corn on the cob, popcorn, deep-fried corn kernels and baked cornmeal snacks. The products containing soy in different forms, such as soy lecithin or others, that do not contain GMOs according to the tests conducted are chocolates and meat products (frankfurters) produced in Bulgaria. The products containing GMOs were shown to be soy sauces, soy beans and kernels, products of the brand Vitabel (artificial meat products and artificial minced meat), and chocolate waffles, according to Popov. He could not name certain brands of waffles because during the tests the different brands of waffles were mixed; this was the actual mixture tested.

What are GMOs?
According to the encyclopaedia, a GMO is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using techniques in genetics generally known as recombinant DNA technology. In other words, genetic modification of plant and animal organisms is mixing of genes from different kinds that could not mix in a natural environment. This act aims at improving certain product qualities. For instance, fish genes were found in tomatoes (to aid against freezing). After the manipulation, the genetically modified tomato is genetically forced to produce the fish chemicals because of the universal gene language. In this way, it produces a chemical called antifreeze naturally used by the fish to survive in ice-cold waters. This sounds fine at first, but problems can arise: on one hand, people who are allergic to fish consume GM tomatoes without suspecting their composition, and on the other, consumers remark that GM tomatoes lose their taste.

Another example can be given with toxin-producing bacteria genes found in the tested maize to kill pests.

Human health hazards coming from GMOs are determined by the fact that the new gene information interferes with the normal functions of the other genes.

The biggest connected problems are still the physical incapability to examine the complete short-term evidence and the impact of GMOs over generations. Some effects of the modified gene structure will not appear for more than 30 years, according to Popov.

In his opinion, "including GMOs in farming means an end to traditional agriculture and clean food". The genes changed can corrupt other species by pollination and can jump over species barriers. Gene pollution is irreversible, Popov said. He further explained that GMO use causes mutations and the appearance of new so-called supergenes, which threaten crops with death of the original.

The issue was further discussed in a public debate at Sofia's The Red House Centre for Culture and Debate on January 30. Opponents of GMO technology, including the former Environment and Water Affairs minister Evdokia Maneva, clarified some aspects of the existing GMO law in Bulgaria, such as the ban on growing GM plants in any area within 30 metres of protected territories. Unfortunately, natural forces can not be predicted, so this barrier is not efficient against wind, for instance.

Many experts believe that gene engineering will dramatically reduce biodiversity because it concentrates on agriculture mono-cultures.

It is still not firmly known whether gene engineering impacts human health, or how. GM products contain proteins, ones humans have never eaten before - for instance, we never ate either bacterial proteins in corn or fish proteins in tomatoes.

The human organism doesn't have any experience with those types of proteins and there is no way to predict whether they will cause allergies or other chronic disease down the road.

What is happening in other EU countries
Austria. In May 2006, the parliament of the Austrian province Styria passed law-prevention clauses for the co-existance of plants containing and not containing GMOs. The law requires preventing any GMO pollution above 0.1 per cent in neighbouring fields. This is a slap in the face for the European Commission (EC), which requires pollution prevention above 0.9 per cent. According to the new Styria law, GM cultures production also requires governmental bodies' approval.

This makes the process of full approval more complicated. Styria insisted that the 0.9 per cent limit is supposed to be for the end food product and not for agricultural production.

Poland. On April 27 2006, Polish parliament banned the trade of GM seeds in the country after a warning of the International Coalition for Protection of Polish Nature. The GM seeds will also not be entered in the National Seeds Register. In this way, Poland has undertaken a conclusive step to sustainable agriculture.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) alleges that a GM plants ban in some countries would create barriers towards free-trade agreements. In response, GMO Greenpeace expert and activist Maisey Muscat said that the Polish parliament resolution showed that the Polish MPs were aware of the possible risks of agricultural cultivation of GM seeds, despite threats from the WTO and the EC. Politicians kept their promises from the last election campaign.

Greenpeace called on all other countries to follow the Polish example in protecting nature and agriculture.

Romania. GM products made in Romania could be banned for export to the EU and even for use in Romania because of non-observance of EU regulations for labelling and tracking of food origin.

Experts say that the increasing use of genetically modified crops also hinders organic agriculture - an area in which Romania has the potential to be competitive on the EU market.

In Romania, there are 130 000 hectares of GM soybeans (70 per cent of all soybeans in the country) and it stands at first place in producing GM soybeans in Europe. A large part of the sowing has been done with uncertified seed, so their origin can not be tracked down.

In the country, GMOs were introduced without any legal framework and there is weak political will for regulation. Also, Romanian society is not well informed on the topic.

Agricultural consultant Dragos Dimas said that Romania will have to pay a high price for not setting up an effective system of testing and controlling the production of soy products. The possible ban of Romanian soy products could be a big blow to Romanian markets because almost all products contain traces of soy. The access to EU structural funds for agricultural projects can also be restricted for Romania in the case where the country does not take measures for food labelling and tracking.

In Dima's opinion, the country needs many years to successfully deal with the chaos in its agricultural sector. "The country will have to destroy the crops with unaccepted GM varieties," he said to the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network's publication Balkan Insight.

Hungary. Meat with GM soybean content was found in the country. Tests, led by the National Committee of Food Safety and the Greenpeace Food Scientific Institute, found canned meat with a sauce composed of more than three per cent GM products without such being indicated on the package.

By national law, food composed of more than 0.9 per cent GM products should clearly indicate it on the package. The supermarkets Lidl and Tesco said they will remove these products from their shelves.

Imports from the US
In October 2006, EU member state experts met as part of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health.

They approved the European Union decision for obligatory tests for GMO presence on rice imported from the US. To the media, the committee emphasised this decision was made because of lack of agreements between US and EU authorities, such as a common report on trials and constant tests in regard to the rice imported.

According to scientists, GMO presence in foods carries a risk to human health.