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Feds plan to speed up approval of GM seeds
Monday, February 27, 2012
HOUSTON - Seed companies will get speedier regulatory reviews of their genetically modified crops under forthcoming rule changes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.
The goal is to cut by half the time needed to approve biotech crops from the current average of three years, Michael Gregoire, a USDA deputy administrator, said last week. The changes will take effect when they're published in the Federal Register, probably in March, he said.
Approvals that took six months in the 1990s have lengthened because of increased public interest, more legal challenges and the advent of national organic food standards, Gregoire said. U.S. farmers worry they may be disadvantaged as countries such as Brazil approve new technologies faster, said Steve Censky, chief executive officer of the American Soybean Association.
One way the USDA plans to speed up approvals is by inviting public comments as soon as seed developers such as Monsanto and DuPont Co. file a complete petition for deregulation of a biotech crop, rather than waiting until the end of the review, Gregoire said. That will allow regulators at the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, or APHIS, to address any concerns as they conduct their environmental analysis and risk assessment, he said.
© Copyright 2012 The Journal Gazette.
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