Consultation with interested parties, notably with NGOs and the Edinburgh Conference on GM foods in February this year, has been very successful. The OECD will continue to undertake analytical work and to play an effective role in international policy dialogue on food safety, maintaining its engagement with civil society and seeking to share its work in this area with countries outside the Organisation's membership. Communiqu of the 1999 OECD Council at Ministerial level, May 1999 21. Biotechnology offers great opportunities but also represents significant challenges and has given rise to public debate on its implications. Ministers stressed the importance of safeguarding human health and the environment while enabling people to enjoy the benefits that flow from advances in biotechnology.
Scientific research is essential to the process.
The OECD should continue to examine the various dimensions of this issue, including in the discussion at the forthcoming CSTP ministerial and in other fora. Communiqu of the G8 Heads of Government meeting at Cologne, June 1999 11. Because trade is increasingly global, the consequences of developments in biotechnology must be dealt with at the national and international levels in all the appropriate fora. In the light of increasing importance of issues concerning food safety we invite the OECD Working Group on Harmonisation of Regulatory Oversight of Biotechnology and the OECD Task Force for the Safety of Novel Foods and Feeds to undertake a study of the implications of biotechnology and other aspects of food safety. We invite OECD experts to discuss their findings with our personal representatives.