The internationally accepted substantial equivalence (SE)
framework [1,2] proposes to begin risk assessment of geneticallymodified (GM) organisms by comparing them with traditional
varieties. Only compounds not present in similar amounts in
already accepted traditional varieties need to be subjected to
toxicological testing [3]. The goal of SE evaluation is not to draw a
conclusion about the novel organism’s safety status because that
would require the impossible testing of all compounds. Instead, by
examining a broad set of traits, SE evaluations aim at obtaining a
picture of the magnitude and nature of incurred changes to use as
a screen for potentially problematic changes and a starting point
for further investigations [3].