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Stricter biofood rules seen
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May 3, 2000: 3:28 p.m. ET
FDA will ask seed firms to supply more data on genetically engineered foods
By Staff Writer Martha Slud
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Responding to rising consumer opposition to genetically manipulated crops, U.S. regulators Wednesday unveiled plans to boost the review of bioengineered food products before they go on the market.
But the new regulations by the Food and Drug Administration immediately drew criticism from consumer activists, who contend that genetically modified food has not been properly tested and may pose health hazards.
Following the lead of European critics, anti-biotech activists in the United States have been putting increasing pressure on food companies to avoid using bioengineered corn, soybeans and other crops in their products.
Under the FDA plan, the agency will require seed developers, such as Pharmacia Corp's (PHA: Research, Estimates) agricultural unit Monsanto Co., DuPont (DD: Research, Estimates), and Novartis AG, to submit research results and data on modified food products, replacing the voluntary system now in place.
But the agency will not require mandatory labels on products containing genetically modified ingredients - a demand made by many critics who say that consumers should know whether they're eating modified foods. Already, the European Union requires such labeling.
Instead, the FDA said it will work the industry to develop voluntary labeling guidelines. The industry opposes blanket label requirements of biotech foods, saying that they are unnecessary and would only scare consumers.
 "FDA's scientific review continues to show that all bioengineered foods sold here in the United States today are as safe as their non-bioengineered counterparts," Dr. Jane Henney, the FDA commissioner, said.
"We believe our initiatives will provide the public with continued confidence in the safety of these foods," she said.
The Union of Concerned Scientists, a frequent critic of bioengineered food, said the FDA plan does not go far enough.
"Overall, we're disappointed because what they're proposing is mostly window dressing," said Jane Rissler, senior staff scientist with the group.
"They do not require labeling and they do not require food safety testing."
"I think people will see through it," she added. "It is really not a strengthening of regulation."
Controversial technology
Bioengineering refers to the deliberate manipulation of DNA to boost crop yields or make crops resistant to herbicides. The biotechnology industry has billed genetically modified crops as one of the most important scientific advances of our time, saying that the technology can help alleviate food shortage problems in the Third World and create more nutritious crops through the addition of vitamins.
An official with the Biotechnology Industry Organization, a Washington trade group, said the industry supports the new FDA rules, but contended that they are unnecessary. Virtually all companies already submit their research data to the FDA before a new biofood is marketed, said L. Val Giddings, BIO's vice president for food and agriculture.
"We don't think it will require companies to do anything different," Giddings said. "We nevertheless are prepared to welcome it, and comply with it."
Industry analyst Sano Shimoda, president of BioScience Securities, said that the FDA regulations are designed to try to boost consumer confidence in an industry whose public image has been battered.
"If the FDA cannot build consumers' confidence in the technology, then perceptions will cause marketplace havoc," he said.
Amid growing consumer concern about the technology, a number of U.S. companies have said they won't use bio-engineered ingredients. Last week, Idaho potato processor J.R. Simplot Co., which supplies French fries to McDonald's and other fast food restaurants, said it has instructed its farmers to stop growing potatoes from modified seeds amid concern from the fast-food chains.
Another company, Frito-Lay, a unit of soft drink maker PepsiCo Inc. (PEP: Research, Estimates), recently told farmers to stop growing genetically modified corn used in its snack food products.
While the companies may believe in the technology, they are worried about consumer backlash and want to retain consumer trust in their brands, Shimoda said.
"What is happening is that many food companies are concerned that they do not want to be singled out for using genetically modified food ingredients, because they have brands to protect," he said.
The growing concern over biofood has triggered a retreat from bioengineering by U.S. farmers, who initially embraced the new seed planting technology because the techniques boosted their bottom lines. The U.S. Agriculture Department recently released a survey showing that use of genetically altered seeds is expected to drop in the United States this year, reducing production of modified corn, cotton and soybeans. 
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