The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) invites public comment on draft instructions to support compliance with the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (the Standard). A notice announcing the availability of the draft instructions was published today in the Federal Register. The draft document provides instructions that regulated entities can use to select a testing method to determine whether modified genetic material is detectable.
The final rule establishing the Standard was published December 21, 2018. In the rule AMS indicated it would provide instructions regarding acceptable testing methodology used to verify the absence of detectable modified genetic material. The regulations identify the standards of performance for detectability testing at 7 CFR 66.9(c). The definition of bioengineered food excludes foods in which the modified genetic material is not detectable. Selecting a test that meets the standards of performance for detectability testing will allow regulated entities to determine if modified genetic material is not detectable.
The draft instructions are available on the AMS website at https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/be/validation-process. AMS invites public comment on the draft instructions through March 4, 2020. Comments should be submitted online at www.regulations.gov.
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