On Monday, June 19 NAEGA joined the Corn Refiners Association (CRA), the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA), the National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA), and the North American Millers Association (NAMA) in comments to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the use of genome-editing techniques to produce new plant varieties intended for use in human and/or animal foods.

The comments urge the FDA to require premarket notification of the agency by plant breeders and others intending to develop and commercialize plant gene-editing techniques – regardless of the technique used. In addition, any future determinations regarding the level of safety consultation and risk assessment for a given biotech-enhanced trait should be based upon the characteristics of the resulting product, rather than on the technique used to develop the plant. Premarket notification should not necessarily trigger a full-fledged FDA safety review or risk assessment.

The comments also stressed the need for enhanced consultations with safety regulatory agencies in other countries, particularly main export markets. Such consultations improve the marketability of U.S. crops and help prevent trade disruptions due to the asynchronicity of domestic regulations.

A copy of the comments can be found here.