Biotechnology

Proposed on-pack food labeling graphics developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to disclose “bioengineered” (BE) foods would increase consumer concerns about the products, according to new research from the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation. Disclosure of bioengineered products was mandated by Congress in 2016 legislation dubbed the Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard. The law provides options for food manufacturers for providing such disclosure, including on-pack symbols, text or QR codes that direct consumers to food ... Read More

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will host an informational webinar about the proposed National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard on June 1 on the AMS website. USDA said the pre-recorded webinar will provide an overview of the background, provisions and potential impacts of the proposed standard, which would require food manufacturers and other entities that label foods for retail sale to disclose information about bioengineered food and bioengineered food ingredients. The new standard was enacted by Congress in 2016. As a member of ... Read More

The NGFA and its Crop Technology (formerly Biotechnology) committee has begun an intensive analysis of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) recently issued proposed rule for labeling food products containing bioengineered ingredients. The NGFA encourages input from its members as the Association develops its official comments, as well as provides input into the comments being developed by the Coalition for Safe and Affordable Food, on whose steering committee NGFA serves. While the proposed rule for the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard, which the agency published on ... Read More

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded approximately $2 million to pursue research on stakeholder and public engagement on new plant breeding innovation techniques, such as gene-editing, intended for use in agricultural production. The funding is being provided by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) through its so-called “Social Implications of Emerging Technologies initiative.”  The initiative is housed within the agency’s Agriculture Economics and Rural Communities (AERC)’s program area.   “Recent advances in gene editing technologies promise ... Read More

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service today officially published in the Federal Register a proposed rule to implement the bioengineered food labeling law enacted by Congress in July 2016. The 30-page proposed rule outlines the conditions under which a food containing bioengineered ingredients would need to be labeled.  The law created a federal preemption to provide one set of standards governing the labeling rules to preclude potential enactment of a plethora of different labeling schemes by states or localities that would have disrupted interstate ... Read More

By Randy Gordon, President Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue on March 28 issued a statement “clarifying” the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s policy regarding regulatory oversight of plants produced using innovative plant breeding techniques, such as gene editing. Consistent with previous USDA policy, Perdue said the department “does not regulate or have plans to regulate plants that could otherwise have been developed through traditional breeding techniques as long as they are not plant pests or developed using plant pests.”  Perdue added that, “with this approach, USDA seeks to ... Read More