biotechnology
Lawsuit calls for USDA to release study on QR codes and GMO food labeling
The anti-GMO group Center for Food Safety filed suit against the USDA to force release of a study on the impact of using digital disclosures such as QR codes to identify foods made with GMO ingredients. "In the United States, there has never been a food labeling requirement met by QR codes," says the center, which prefers a written label on food packages.
Lighthizer warning: Buy GMOs or expect a fight
The Trump administration will attack overseas regulations that restrict the export of GMO crops and other products resulting from American technological innovation, said U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer at the first meeting of a newly created task force on rural America.
Brazil approves GMO sugar cane, a global first
The chief executive of CTC Centro de Tecnologia Canavieira announced that Brazilian regulators have approved the use of a genetically modified version of sugarcane, the first time any country has allowed commercialization of biotech cane.
USDA says it will change GE regulation approach, include genome-edited crops
The Agriculture Department will unveil today its proposal to update its regulatory framework of biotechnology. The plan is designed to speed up development of GE plants that do not pose a plant pest or weed risk, and to cover plants created through genome-editing techniques, such as CRISPR, if they pose plant pest or noxious-weed risk. At present, GE plants produced without the use of genetic sequences from plant pests — the traditional method of genetic modification — are not subject to federal biotechnology rules.
USDA deregulates GE bentgrass that escaped field trials
Based on its belief that a genetically engineered strain of bentgrass “is unlikely to pose a plant pest risk,” the USDA agency in charge of biotechnology has deregulated the grass, which escaped field trials in 2003 and grows in the wild in two Oregon counties, said Capital Press. The deregulation followed an agreement by Scotts, the developer of the grass, not to commercialize the variety.
U.S. prods China on ag-biotech reviews
At an annual bi-national meeting, senior U.S. trade officials pushed their counterparts from China for "a predictable, transparent and scientific" system for deciding whether to approve the import of genetically engineered crops. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said that despite U.S. disappointment that more progress was not made at the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade discussions, the United States expects a Chinese agency to approve eight biotech strains at a meeting in December.
USDA clears way for two GE potatoes
USDA's biotechnology regulators say that two genetically engineered potato varieties from J.R. Simplot, developer of the first GE potato to resist bruising, can be grown safely and do not need federal regulation.
White House unveils two documents on modernizing biotech regulation
Fourteen months ago, the Obama administration launched the first comprehensive review in 30 years of the roles of the USDA, the EPA and the FDA in regulating biotechnology. In a follow-up, the White House released a proposed update to the Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology — the division of labor among regulators, first issued in 1986 — and a national strategy for modernizing biotechnology regulations.
‘Prawns’ made from algae
Biotech startup New Wave Foods is selling "prawns" made from algae and plant ingredients, says The Guardian. “We’ve done a few blind taste tests—unofficially, you know—and until we tell people it’s made of plants and algae they can’t tell,” says the company’s CEO, Dominique Barnes, who has a background in marine conservation. Even the executive chef at Google was so impressed when he tried the product that he ordered 200 pounds.
Gene editing may not be as fool-proof as thought
There is an emerging concern among scientists that the gene-editing technique CRISPR "might inadvertently alter regions of the genome other than the intended one," says STAT, the health and medicine site. Dr. J. Keith Joung of Massachusetts General Hospital says that algorithms used to predict off-target effects of gene editing "miss a fair number" of them.
Biotech company to close research lab as part of USDA penalty
California company Santa Cruz Biotechnology, one of the world's largest suppliers of antibodies for research, agreed to pay a $3.5 million fine, close its research lab and surrender its animal-dealer license in an agreement that resolves USDA complaints that the company mistreated animals, reports the Santa Cruz Tribune.
U.S. should broaden its safety review of new plant strains, says NAS panel
The National Academy of Sciences, pointing to the emergence of new technology such as gene editing and the sometimes startling effects of conventional plant breeding, said the government should conduct safety reviews of all new plant varieties that pose potential hazards, not only the results of genetic engineering.
Farm groups seek to exempt gene editing from biotech rules
Two decades into the era of agricultural biotechnology, the United States is updating its regulatory system, in which USDA, EPA and FDA are the gatekeepers for commercialization of genetically modified crops and livestock.
Senators say EU must remove ag barriers, approve GMOs
In a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, farm-state senators say Europe must take large steps toward opening its market to U.S. farm exports or prospects for approval of a U.S.-EU free-trade agreement will fade.
Work on wheat genome sequencing speeds along
Researchers may complete a sequencing of the notoriously complex genome of bread wheat in two years, rather than the four or five years that was expected, says Country Guide.
A ‘menagerie of gene-edited animals’ besides GE salmon
The FDA approval of genetically engineered salmon for human consumption raised the curtain on a "menagerie of gene-edited animals ... already being raised on farms and in laboratories around the world — some designed for food, some to fight disease, some, perhaps, as pets," reports the New York Times.
Groups urge administration to label GMOs
Seven environmental and consumer groups say the government's overhaul of its biotechnology regulations should result in mandatory labeling of food made with genetically modified organisms.
Stabenow: GMO pre-emption ‘needs to move quickly’ in Senate
he Democratic leader on the Senate Agriculture Committee said she is committed to passing a bill that pre-empts state GMO food-labeling laws. "This needs to needs to move quickly," said Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan. Vermont's first-in-the-nation labeling law will take effect on July 1. The food industry says Congress needs to override the Vermont law before the end of this year to prevent a costly hodgepodge of labeling rules.