Promising to “secure the bright future” of agricultural biotechnology, the Clinton Administration early in May announced a series of regulatory initiatives aimed at building consumer confidence, keeping federal biotechnology rules in line with scientific and market developments, and maintaining the current voluntary food labeling policy while assuring that those labels are not misleading. Although industry representatives appear to approve the administration's stance, biotech critics gave them negative reviews for doing little more than preserving the status quo.
Despite the proclamation by Jane Henney, commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA; Rockville, MD) that “FDA's scientific review continues to show that all bioengineered foods sold here in the United States are as safe as their nonbioengineered counterparts,” FDA is proposing to make mandatory its current voluntary consultative process on bioengineered foods and feeds. The agency plans to “strengthen this process by specifically requiring developers to notify the agency of their intent to market a food or animal feed from a bioengineered plant at least 120 days before marketing.” Information about such products that is submitted to the agency also will be “made available to the public, consistent with applicable disclosure laws.”
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