Food News

The Non-GMO Summit 2026, held on 13 May in Frankfurt, focused on the future regulation of new genomic techniques (NGTs) and their impact on the European food and feed industry.

Shortly before the vote in the European Parliament, there was intense discussion about the impact the planned changes will have on markets, supply chains, and quality standards. As one of Europe’s leading laboratory groups, AGROLAB participated in this conference—not least to enrich the current discussion with insights from analytical practice. The focus was particularly on the potential classification of so-called NGT1 plants. As things stand, it appears that certain organisms produced using new genomic techniques may no longer be subject to GMO labeling requirements in the future. At the same time, the specific details of EU legislation remain open, which is causing considerable uncertainty regarding future regulatory requirements. A central topic of the discussion was the analytical distinguishability of NGT1 plants from conventionally bred plants. To date, there is not a single method that even comes close to meeting the requirements of routine analysis. However, this would be necessary for the practical implementation of labeling that remains consumer-friendly, for the control of imports from non-EU countries, and, more generally, for quality assurance along global supply chains.

YOUR PLUS: As accredited partners, the AGROLAB laboratories are your expert point of contact for GMO analysis in agricultural products, food and feed. That is why our experts are following current developments with particular interest, so that we can continue to offer reliable and scientifically sound analyses in the future. This also means that we will only offer NGT-1 analysis once recognised methods are available.

Author: Dr. Martin Hanauer, AGROLAB GROUP