Glickman Outlines USDA, FDA Roles in Biotech

May 5, 2000

Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman sees the Food and Drug Administration developing guidelines for voluntary biotech food labels, while USDA’s role will be to help develop testing procedures and quality assurance programs designed "to differentiate non-biotech commodities and to better meet the needs of the market."

In an address to the National Academy of Sciences’ Standing Committee on Biotechnology, Glickman said the administration would assess developments in the technology and carefully review all biotech-related federal environmental regulations, making recommendations as needed.

"To enhance consumer information and to support the marketing of agricultural products, FDA will develop guidelines for voluntary biotech food labels that are clear and truthful," he said. "Similarly, USDA will initiate efforts to help develop testing procedures and quality assurance programs designed to differentiate non-biotech commodities and to better meet the needs of the market. Both USDA and FDA will involve the public, the industry and farmers in the development of these initiatives."

Deputy Agriculture Secretary Richard Rominger told the same meeting that biotech critics want the government to certify that new product are zero-risk before they come to market. "Unfortunately, this isn’t a zero-risk world," he said. "Even traditional farming practices and traditional ways are not without risks, and they only increase as world population grows."

One of the "most critical things" NAS could do, said Rominger, would to be "put your recommendations into clear contexts. As our world becomes more and more technical, it becomes increasingly difficult for people to grasp the big picture – how individual pieces of information fit into the whole puzzle."

On Wednesday, the FDA announced plans to require that developers of bioengineered foods and animal feeds notify FDA at least 120 days before marketing the product that they intend to bring the product into the commercial mainstream. The proposal also requires that specific information be submitted to help determine whether the foods or animal feeds pose any potential safety, labeling or adulteration issues.

The company will be notified by FDA of the agency’s conclusions on the regulatory status of the product. To give consumers access to the information and FDA’s conclusions, the material will be posed on the FDA web site. Labeling, however, will continue to be voluntary, but FDA will provide labeling guidance to companies that want to label bioengineered products.

Comments on the proposal were favorable from farm and agribusiness groups. American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman said the proposal "should further boost consumer confidence in the safety of America's food supply." Biotech companies, like farmers, "should welcome the opportunity to share research that proves any new biotech food product is safe."

The National Corn Growers Association applauded a provision that FDA will establish guidelines for products that can be labeled non-biotech. NCBA supports mandatory labeling of products that are substantially different from conventional counterparts, but biotech crops, like Bt corn, "are not substantially different from their conventional hybrid siblings and therefore don’t require labeling."

Sen. Tom Harkin (D_IA) called the FDA proposal "a balanced approach that reaches out to all concerned sectors, including farmers and consumers" and "strengthens the scientific basis and transparency of our approval process for agricultural biotech products."

American Soybean Association President Marc Curtis welcomed the proposal "to reinforce the strength and transparency of science_based regulation and enhance information access for farmers and consumers."

Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH) blasted the proposal as "inadequate" and questioned the effort as nothing more than a bid to deflect legitimate concerns about the technology. Kucinich supports the mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods. Greenpeace's Charles Margulis said consumers have told FDA "they want to know what they are eating, but FDA is telling industry that if they want to keep GMO foods a secret, that's no problem."