Deliberate Release Inspection Programme
Consent to release a GMO is issued by the Secretary of State for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs under the GMO
(Deliberate Release) Regulations 2002 (as amended). Specific consents are
issued with strict conditions for conducting and managing each release. It is
the GM Inspectorate’s responsibility to ensure that consent holders are
complying with these conditions by undertaking inspections of GM deliberate release
field sites for both experimental (‘Part B’) and commercial (‘Part
C’) consents. See the Defra website for details of the deliberate
release approvals process.
In ‘Part B’ consents, conditions such as correct location and size
of GM release, separation distances from other crops, presence and size of pollen
barriers, control of volunteers and flowering plants, and monitoring requirements,
may be imposed. GM Inspectors must verify that the release is compliant with these
conditions, if this is found not to be the case the consent holder will be contacted
and the matter investigated further.
Reports on field inspection visits are produced and submitted to Defra within
an agreed framework of five working days. The consent holder and Defra have 20
days in which to comment on the factual details of the report before the reports
are placed on the public register and on our website. Use the links below to access
further information on report contents and to view published reports.