Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
access to such data on any current GM crop or food.” He further charges
that independent scientists have not received funding or technical coop-
eration from FDA that would enable them to carry out independent
assessments of the GM food safety claims made by companies.
39
Thus, there is no mandatory pre-market review at FDA for most GM
food products, and those that are reviewed arise from company initiative
and are permissively treated because of FDA's reliance on company-
submitted summaries of alleged proprietary studies that are not available
to other scientists or the public. Most GM foods with pesticide residues
are treated in similar fashion. As noted earlier, they will not be consid-
ered adulterated by the FDA and therefore not subject to pre-market
approval by FDA if EPA has previously exempted the residue or the
residue conforms to EPA's tolerance level. Because EPA relies on infor-
mation submitted by companies that claim the information is propri-
etary, independent scientific review and meaningful public involvement
are lacking in its proceedings as well.
40
The second major feature of FDA's regulatory program for GM food
products is its authority to prevent “misbranding” to ensure that label-
ing and promotional materials accompanying a product in commerce are
not fraudulent or misleading. Here, the major issue confronting FDA has
been the demand by opponents of GM food and proponents of consumer
rights that FDA require that GM foods be labeled as such. Despite per-
sistent pressure, the agency has refused to impose a mandatory GM food
labeling requirement, claiming that there is no factual basis for it to con-
clude that bioengineered foods differ from other foods in any meaningful
or uniformmanner, and that GM foods as a category of food products do
not present any different or greater safety concern than foods developed
by traditional plant breeding.
41
39
Charles M. Benbrook, GMOs, Pesticide Use, and Alternatives: Lessons from the U.S.
Experience at 15, available at http://www.biotech-info.net/lessons learned.pdf.
40
Id.
41
Statement of Policy: Foods Derived From New Plant Varieties, 57 Fed. Reg. 22984
(May 29, 1992).
