International Guidelines Will Promote Food Safety of Plant and ...

Tag : Food Material
Press Release

Biotechnology Industry Organization Release date: July 4, 2008

International Guidelines Will Promote Food Safety of Plant andAnimal Biotech Products WASHINGTON, D.C. (Friday, July 04, 2008) - The BiotechnologyIndustry Organization congratulates the Codex AlimentariusCommission for approving key guidelines to further promote thesafety of products from agricultural plant and animalbiotechnology. The Codex Commission took final action today at its31st session in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Codex Alimentarius Commission and its member countries approvedtoday
o the Annex on Food Safety Assessment in Situations of Low-LevelPresence of Recombinant-DNA Plant Material in Food (LLP Annex),
o the Annex on Food Safety Assessment of Foods Derived fromRecombinant DNA-Plants Modified for Nutritional or Health Benefits,and
o the Guideline for the Conduct of Food Safety Assessment of FoodsDerived from Recombinant-DNA Animals.

Sharon Bomer Lauritsen, executive vice president, food andagriculture for the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO),issued the following statement in response to action taken thisweek by the Commission:

"On behalf of its members, BIO commends the actions taken by Codexthis week. These standards represent Codex's commitment topromoting food safety for consumers, while embracing scientificadvances and fostering trade of biotech-derived agricultureproducts.

"BIO and its members applaud the U.S. government and othergovernments around the world for moving these science-basedguidelines to adoption by Codex.

"Adoption of guidance related to food safety assessments oflow-level presence is essential to facilitate international tradewhile regulating incidental or trace amounts of biotechnologyevents in food and feed products. The new guidance recognizes thatlow-level presence is a natural part of plant biology, seedproduction and the distribution of commodity crops, and it can bemanaged in ways that ensure food safety and minimize tradedisruptions.

"Adoption of the guidelines for risk assessment of the safety offoods derived from genetically engineered (GE) animals represents apolicy breakthrough in the area of animal biotechnology. Codexstandards are recognized as international benchmarks and act asmodels for governments in the establishment of their own foodsafety policies.

"Approval of the guidelines can now pave the way for the UnitedStates and other countries to develop science-based regulatoryprocesses to govern the use of GE animals. GE animals are beingdeveloped to advance human and animal health, enhance foodproduction, mitigate environmental impact and provide for high-techindustrial products.

"The Codex-approved texts on plant and animal biotechnology serveas science-based guidance, which will further enhance consumersafety and health while promoting the trade of biotech-derivedproducts. This represents a tremendous step forward for farmers,traders and biotechnology industries in the United States andaround the world."

In 2006, the Codex Task Force on Foods Derived from Biotechnologyagreed to draft an international guidance for food safetyassessment of low-level presence of biotech products authorized assafe for use in food, feed, grain and derived products in one ormore countries, including country of cultivation, but not yet inthe country of import. In September, 2007 the members of the CodexTask Force unanimously agreed on the draft Annex that wasconsidered and adopted by the Commission this week.

The Codex Alimentarius Commission was created in 1963 by the UnitedNations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the WorldHealth Organization (WHO).

Codex, which comprises about 165 countries worldwide, is ascientific body that develops the international standards for foodsafety aimed at protecting public health and promoting fair tradepractices.

Upcoming BIO Events

Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy
Sept. 10-12, 2008
Vancouver, BC

BIO Investor Forum 2008
October 29-31, 2008
San Francisco, CA

BIO-Europe 2008
November 17-19, 2008
Mannheim/Heidelberg, Germany

About BIO
BIO represents more than 1,200 biotechnology companies, academicinstitutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizationsacross the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIOmembers are involved in the research and development of innovativehealthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmentalbiotechnology products. BIO also produces the BIO InternationalConvention, the world's largest gathering of the biotechnologyindustry, along with industry-leading investor and partneringmeetings held around the world.