The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service has published a final rule to update the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard’s List of Bioengineered Foods.
One new product will be added to the list, and one product already on the list will be amended to better reflect only bioengineered varieties, according to a news release.
A final rule establishing the list updates was published in the Federal Register on Nov. 29. This final rule becomes effective Dec. 29, 2023. Mandatory compliance will begin June 23, 2025.
AMS is revising the list to:
- Add “sugarcane (Bt insect-resistant varieties).”
- Amend “squash (summer)” to “squash (summer, coat protein mediated virus-resistant varieties).”
The final rule was developed based on public comments received from the proposed rule published in the Federal Register on July 22 last year, according to the release.
The comment period for the proposed rule closed Sept. 20, 2022, with a total of 37 comments.
The standard requires AMS to develop and update the list to identify bioengineered products that are approved for production and in commercial production somewhere in the world. The standard at 7 CFR 66.1 defines bioengineered foods as those that contain detectable genetic material that has been modified through in vitro recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid techniques and for which the modification could not otherwise be obtained through conventional breeding or found in nature.
The current list, 7 CFR 66.6, identifies the crops or foods that are available in a bioengineered form to aid regulated entities considering whether they may need to make a BE disclosure. The standard, 7 CFR Part 66, establishes the need for record-keeping by regulated entities who are using or selling the crops and foods on the list, the release said.
More information about the standard and the list are available on the AMS website.
