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R v Monsanto plc; R v Perryfields Holdings Limited

United Kingdom
16/08/1999
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Monsanto plc has been fined £17,000 and Perryfields Holdings Limited has been fined £14,000 for failing to ensure that field trials of genetically modified winter oilseed rape were conducted in line with the conditions of their consents. These were the first prosecutions to be taken in the UK under Part VI of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 governing the deliberate release of genetically modified organisms into the environment. Section 111 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 states that "no person shall release any genetically modified organism except in pursuance of a consent granted by the Secretary of State and in accordance with any limitations and conditions to which the consent is subject". In these cases, a condition of the consents granted required that the field trials be surrounded by a six metre border of unmodified oilseed rape plants to restrict GM pollen transfer to neighbouring crops. A routine inspection by a HSE's Specialist Biotechnology Inspectorate revealed that Monsanto plc and Perryfields Holdings Limited had failed to comply with the condition, the border having been partially removed prior to flowering, reducing its width to as little as two metres in places.
(Health and Safety Executive Press Release, 17 February 1999)

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