The IGTC has returned from two weeks of UN negotiations on the Cartagena Biosafety Protocol, which saw the 170 countries, or 'Parties' to the Protocol (list here), take decisions on the utilization and movement of Living Modified Organisms (LMOs). Given that the Protocol impacts more than 85% of the world's grain movements, the IGTC was on-site to provide expertise on the consequences of discussions from a grain trade perspective.

Of particular importance for the IGTC were the following provisions:

·        Operational definitions of "illegal" and "unintentional" transboundary movements (final decision here)

·        Training manual on LMO detection and sampling (draft document here) 

·        Risk assessment guidance on LMOs (document here)