Co-Extra
Encyclopedia
Co-Extra is an EU-funded research programme on co-existence
and traceability
of genetically modified crops
and their edible derivatives. It has been granted €13.5 million under the Sixth Framework Programme of the European Union, and is conducted by more than 200 scientists in 52 organisations in 18 countries. The programme runs from 2005 until 2009 and has a total budget of €24 million.
methods, forges supply chain organisations, and provides practical tools and methods for implementing co-existence between GMO-based (i.e., based on the use of genetically modified organisms) and non-GMO-based supply chains.
Also supporting cost-effective documentary traceability, Co-Extra is aimed at devising reliable, analytical detection methods, and at establishing the most appropriate methods of collecting, organising and distributing information. A core programme objective is the provision, to all stakeholders of food and feed chains, of a central decision-support system incorporating all necessary institutional tools, methods, models and guidelines.
Co-Extra’s conclusions contribute to the progress of standardisation in Europe - thereby preserving consumers’ freedom of choice between GM and non-GM products.
Co-existence of genetically modified and conventional crops and derived food and feed
In the context of agriculture and food and feed production, co-existence means using cropping systems with and without genetically modified organisms in parallel. For co-existence to be assured, the separation and the identity of the respective food and feed products must be maintained at all...
and traceability
Traceability
Traceability refers to the completeness of the information about every step in a process chain.The formal definition: Traceability is the ability to chronologically interrelate uniquely identifiable entities in a way that is verifiable....
of genetically modified crops
Genetically modified organism
A genetically modified organism or genetically engineered organism is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. These techniques, generally known as recombinant DNA technology, use DNA molecules from different sources, which are combined into one...
and their edible derivatives. It has been granted €13.5 million under the Sixth Framework Programme of the European Union, and is conducted by more than 200 scientists in 52 organisations in 18 countries. The programme runs from 2005 until 2009 and has a total budget of €24 million.
Co-Extra research goals
The research programme studies and validates biological containmentBiological containment
Biological containment describes measures aimed at preventing genetically modified organisms and their transgenes from spreading into the environment ....
methods, forges supply chain organisations, and provides practical tools and methods for implementing co-existence between GMO-based (i.e., based on the use of genetically modified organisms) and non-GMO-based supply chains.
Also supporting cost-effective documentary traceability, Co-Extra is aimed at devising reliable, analytical detection methods, and at establishing the most appropriate methods of collecting, organising and distributing information. A core programme objective is the provision, to all stakeholders of food and feed chains, of a central decision-support system incorporating all necessary institutional tools, methods, models and guidelines.
Co-Extra’s conclusions contribute to the progress of standardisation in Europe - thereby preserving consumers’ freedom of choice between GM and non-GM products.
Work packages of Co-Extra
The programme is structured in eight work packages (WP):- WP 1: Biology approaches for gene flow mitigation
- WP 2: Supply chain analysis, description and modelling
- WP 3: Economic costs and benefits of co-existence and traceability
- WP 4: Development testing and sampling approaches
- WP 5: Development and integration of analytical traceability tools
- WP 6: Technical challenges of GMO detection
- WP 7: Integration with respect to legal, scientific, social and ethical issues
- WP 8: Dialogue and communication