The European Commission approved the import, processing and use in animal feed of Monsanto's NK603 Roundup Ready Corn grain in the European Union (EU), conditional upon its pending approval under the EU Novel Foods Regulation. Monsanto's NK603 corn, which is designed to be tolerant to the active ingredient in Roundup agricultural herbicides, is currently marketed as Roundup Ready Corn 2.
"Monsanto welcomes the Commission's ruling on Roundup Ready Corn 2 technology," said Brett Begemann, executive vice president of International Commercial for Monsanto. "This decision is welcome progress toward completing the necessary regulatory approvals for Roundup Ready Corn 2 technology in the EU. We're hopeful that this is a signal that the European Communities and its member states are serious about ending the moratorium on biotech approvals."