…. More than 30 years have passed since the three federal agencies that deal with agricultural products of biotechnology — U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) — sat together and decided what they thought was the best way to protect public health and the environment
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European Seed sat down with Fan-Li Chou, Biotechnology Coordinator advising the Secretary’s Office at USDA for her take on the background of the revision of the USDA regulations, and an outlook on some of the proposals.
European Seed (ES): Why was it necessary to modernize these current regulations?
Fan-Li Chou (FLC): Originally drafted in 1986, the Coordinated Framework outlined a policy approach for a regulatory framework to ensure health and environmental safety and maintain sufficient regulatory flexibility to avoid impeding innovation.
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In combination, the 2016 National Strategy for Modernizing the Regulatory System for Biotechnology Products (Strategy) and subsequent June 2019 Executive Order …. requested USDA APHIS, EPA, and FDA to examine and revise relevant agricultural biotechnology regulations and guidance to ensure that they are risk proportionate, avoid arbitrary or unjustifiable distinctions across like products developed through different technologies, ensure public confidence, and promote future innovation.
Read full, original article: How the United States is revising its biotech regulations
