The impact of the OECD on the development of national/international risk/safety assessment frameworks

Environmental Impact Assessment and Biosafety, Federal Environment Agency, Umweltbundesamt, Spittelauer Laende 5, A-1090 Vienna, Austria

Corresponding author: helmut.gaugitsch@umweltbundesamt.at

Abstract

The role of OECD in the development of national and international risk/safety assessment frameworks is presented and discussed. The most relevant OECD bodies in this context have contributed a lot to the development of international biosafety frameworks, inter alia by organizing international conferences in the areas of food/feed and environmental safety of GMOs, focusing on practical and current scientific issues. The OECD Consensus Documents as well as the OECD Product Database have provided a good basis for risk/safety assessment frameworks and their implementation. The relevance for the OECD work in the international area is discussed, in particular, with respect to the work undertaken under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, the Codex Alimentarius Commission and its work in biotechnology, as well as under the International Plant Protection Convention. An outlook and suggestions for future directions of OECD work in this area are presented.