Special issue: Selected topics on U.S. and E. U. agbiotech regulation

Table of contents (excerpts)

APHIS Restructures Regulation of GE Organisms
Phill Jones
In October 2008, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced plans to revise its regulation of the importation, interstate movement, and environmental release of genetically engineered (GE) organisms. According to the agency, a desire to keep pace with the increasing complexity of biotechnology inspired the most comprehensive revision of its regulations since they were established in 1987. 

Introducing Genetically Engineered Corn into European Markets Is a Real Grind
Phill Jones
The European Union has established a comprehensive set of rules for the cultivation of GM crops and marketing of food and feed that contain ingredients from GM crops. Growing a GM crop requires authorization following a rigorous safety assessment for possible effects on the environment and human health. The EU’s evolving rules present challenges to anyone who wants to grow a GM crop.

Should Novel Organisms Developed Using Oligonucleotide-mediated Mutagenesis Be Excluded from the EU Regulation?
Didier Breyer, Philippe Herman, Annick Brandenburger, Godelieve Gheysen, Erik Remaut, Patrice Soumillion, Jan Van Doorsselaere, René Custers, Katia Pauwels, Myriam Sneyers and Dirk Reheul
A novel organism will fall under the scope of the GMO Regulation only if it has been developed with the use of certain techniques. The EU Directives therefore include annexes that give additional information regarding the techniques that result in genetic modification, that are not considered to result in genetic modification, or that result in genetic modification but yield organisms that are excluded from the scope of the Directives.

Regulatory Harmony in the GE World?
Koreen Ramessar, Teresa Capell, Richard M Twyman, Hector Quemada, and Paul Christou
Now that the public at large is more open to considering the benefits of transgenic technology, we can at last turn our attention to a problem that is stifling development and ensuring that the discoveries of today take a long, long time to reach the field. This problem is not technical, not logistical, not agricultural, but political—there is a distinct lack of harmony among international regulations that relate to research, biosafety, and to the trade and use of transgenic crops.

Full report: http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2009/nov09.pdf

Website: http://www.isb.vt.edu

Published: November 24, 2009