Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to introduce biosecurity measures to ensure gene-edited crops do not enter the human food or animal feed systems, or the wider environment, in the light of the recent announcement of field trials of gene-edited crops on 25 commercial farms.

We have no plans to introduce biosecurity measures for all research trials involving gene-edited plants. These plants only contain genetic sequence that could arise through traditional breeding. However, unlike equivalent trials for traditionally bred plants, Defra asks for confirmation that the person with overall responsibility for them will put in place appropriate measures, as necessary, to minimise the possibility of material from the plants entering the human food or animal feed systems.