Federal Agencies Unite to Launch Unified Website for Biotechnology Regulation

In recognition of January 2020 as National Biotechnology Month, FDA, USDA, and EPA have launched a Unified Website for Biotechnology Regulation. The website streamlines information about the three regulatory agencies charged with overseeing agriculture biotechnology products and the Executive Order on Modernizing the Regulatory Framework for Agricultural Biotechnology Products.

“This is a time of unprecedented scientific innovation. Agricultural biotechnology promises to bring dynamic new products to the marketplace,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, M.D. “At the FDA, we are committed to fostering flexible, risk-based approaches in this field while upholding our mission of protecting and promoting both human and animal health and animal well-being, for example by reducing their susceptibility to diseases like novel influenzas and resistance to zoonotic or foreign animal diseases. Our approach balances our internationally respected, science-based review standards with our ongoing risk-based regulatory approaches to ensure the safety of our food supply.”

The Unified Website for Biotechnology Regulation describes the federal review process for certain biotechnology products and allows users to submit questions to the three agencies. The goals of this website are to provide enhanced customer service to innovators and developers, while ensuring Americans continue to enjoy the safest and most affordable food supply in the world and can learn more about the safe use of biotechnology innovations.

In October 2018, FDA announced its Plant and Animal Biotechnology Innovation Action Plan, which focuses on the agency’s risk-based regulatory approach. This approach will help secure confidence in the reliability and performance of plant and animal-based innovative products for consumers and America’s global trading partners, the agency said, adding that ensuring these products are safe is critical to maintaining consumer and commercial confidence in them and will help them to realize their full potential benefits for human and animal health.

FDA uses a flexible, risk-based approach to the oversight of plant- and animal- derived products of biotechnology, focusing on safety and, where applicable, effectiveness. The agency’s approach includes, when appropriate, updating and clarifying science-based policies to support innovation and ensure that our regulatory processes are efficient, predictable, and proportionate to risk.