ACPA Welcomes EPA Bt Corn Decision

The American Crop Protection Association says it welcomed a decision by the Environmental Protection Agency to continue the registration of several plant-incorporated protectants containing the Bacillus thurigiensis (Bt) gene. EPA announced Tuesday that Bt corn products (Cry1Ab and Cry1F corn) can be sold in the United States for the next seven years.

A decision to re-register Bt cotton was announced earlier this month. In the latest announcement, EPA retained certain requirements, including insect resistance management and grower education. Additionally, registrants are now required to provide a validated analytical method for detection of the Bt protein in corn grain.

"We are pleased that the technical and stewardship efforts of our members has resulted in these re-registrations," said ACPA president Jay Vroom, noting that all of the Bt registrants are ACPA members. "We are committed to working with the EPA in the responsible development and appropriate regulation of all crop protection technologies," Vroom added. "We believe that American growers need to have access to all crop production technologies - chemical and biotech - in order to produce safe, healthy and abundant food for our domestic and export markets."