GM sugar beet KWS20-1 (KB-KWS2Ø1-6) tolerant to glyphosate, dicamba and glufosinate: authorisation for food and feed, detection by event-specific real-time PCR, reference materials AOCS 0523-B and 1206-A — decision adopted without an opinion of the committee or the appeal committee
Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/457, published on 3 March 2026, authorises for 10 years the placing on the market of food, food ingredients and feed produced from genetically modified sugar beet KWS20-1 (holders: Bayer CropScience LLC and KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA), which expresses the cp4 epsps, dmo and pat genes. The application does not cover cultivation or import of viable material. The EFSA GMO Panel (opinion of 12 May 2025) found the beet as safe as its conventional counterpart; neither the Standing Committee nor the appeal committee delivered an opinion, so the decision was adopted by the Commission.
- Detection method in the annex: event-specific quantitative real-time PCR for KB-KWS2Ø1-6, validated by the EU Reference Laboratory for GMOs and published on the EURL GMFF method page; reference materials — AOCS 0523-B (KB-KWS2Ø1-6) and AOCS 1206-A (non-GM counterpart). Name of the organism on the label: “sugar beet”. No environmental monitoring plan and no post-market monitoring of food. In the PL version of the annex point (b)(2) reads “food produced from… beet”, in EN — “feed produced from…”.
- Molecular characterisation (EFSA opinion): a single insert of 11 722 bp — one copy of the three expression cassettes, with deletions of 316 bp of the right and 182 bp of the left T-DNA border and of 7 bp of genomic DNA at the insertion site; no vector backbone sequences (Southern blot, four probes). Transformation with Agrobacterium tumefaciens AGL1 and vector PV-BVHT527462; stability confirmed over five generations. Proteins in roots (ELISA, five US sites, 2020): CP4 EPSPS about 100–110 µg/g DW, DMO 11–12 µg/g, PAT below the LOQ of 0.125 µg/g DW.
- Comparative analysis (eight US sites, 2019, 14 reference varieties): 36 constituents (6 in tops, 30 in roots); the only difference requiring further assessment was pectin in roots of herbicide-treated plants — 2.96 versus 3.11 % DW (about 5 % less), without an equivalence test because of the lack of variation among reference varieties. Canopy cover was lower than in the counterpart (equivalence category III). The DMO protein lost activity at ≥ 75 °C and was digested by pepsin within 0.5 min and by pancreatin within 5 min.
- In the human exposure assessment EFSA gives for toddlers values of “45.7 µg/g, 5.1 µg/g and 0.24 µg/g for DMO, PAT and CP4 EPSPS proteins”; the proportions, however, match the root contents in the order CP4 EPSPS, DMO, PAT. A 90-day rat study with 2.5 and 5 % beet pulp showed no adverse effects; EFSA accepted 5 %, noting that up to 10 % beet pulp alters lipid metabolism in rats. No exposure to the new proteins is expected from white sugar, and protein and DNA are largely degraded during processing into sugar, pulp and molasses.