BIO is hopeful that the second Bush term will see an FDA commissioner empowered to push regulatory initiatives sought by the industry...

Barach [of the National Food Processors Association] expressed hope that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick would file a second World Trade Organization complaint against the EU, this time addressing new EU rules on labeling and traceability of bioengineered food and feed that took effect last April.
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Biotech regulation likely to be the same in second Bush term
by Stephen Clapp
Food Chemical News, USa, 8 Nov 2004

Biotech regulation in the second Bush term is expected to be a continuation of agency initiatives in the current term, industry sources told Food Chemical News .

"There are positive signals but little follow through so far," an industry lawyer who asked not to be identified told FCN , speculating that John Kerry as president would have leaned toward European Union positions.

However, other observers saw little difference between the candidates when it came to biotech. "My hunch is that a Kerry FDA might be marginally more likely to reintroduce the [2001] proposal for mandatory pre-market notification of biotech food products," Greg Conko, food safety policy director at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, told FCN before the election (see FCN Nov. 1, Page 12). "Aside from that, I suspect it's difficult to identify any area where a Bush or Kerry administration would make a difference."

Lisa Dry, spokeswoman for the Biotechnology Industry Organization, also stressed the non-partisan nature of the food biotech issue, citing strong support in both parties. She said BIO is eager to see President Bush move forward on several of the trade association's priorities in his second term.

BIO is hopeful that the second Bush term will see an FDA commissioner empowered to push regulatory initiatives sought by the industry, Dry told FCN . She reported that a long-sought proposal on early food safety assessments of unapproved biotech traits in crops undergoing field trials ("adventitious presence") is pending at FDA and very near release. If small quantities of the transgenic material appear to be harmless,
regulators could allow their presence in the food supply.

In addition to the AP proposal, BIO is seeking policy guidance on transgenic and cloned animals, strengthening of the coordinated framework (FDA, EPA and USDA) for biotech regulation, and "a good, strong regulatory framework" in general, Dry said.

Stephanie Childs, spokeswoman for the Grocery Manufacturers of America, predicted that federal agencies would now move forward with the policies they're currently developing. "A Kerry administration might have taken more time to review what has happened, and there would be a little delay," she said. "However, I think both Bush and Kerry recognize the benefits of using this technology to move forward."

Jeff Barach, vice president for special projects at the National Food Processors Association, described the current Bush administration as "very supportive" of biotechnology and expressed confidence that progress would continue.

Echoing BIO's Dry, Barach said industry had expected FDA's policy on adventitious presence of unapproved biotech events to be proposed before the election, but publication is now expected early in the new Bush administration.

The NFPA official acknowledged that earlier industry efforts to persuade FDA to finalize its 2001 proposal for mandatory pre-market notification of biotech food products had ended in failure. "It's kind of a non-issue for them," he said. "It's been taken off the platter. We're not pursuing that."

Barach praised efforts by USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to overhaul its regulation of biotech plants, including plant-made pharmaceutical crops.

Turning to international issues, Barach expressed hope that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick would file a second World Trade Organization complaint against the EU, this time addressing new EU rules on labeling and traceability of bioengineered food and feed that took effect last April.

"With all the current players in place, it looks like the U.S. might do it," Barach said, reporting that industry is still pulling together information to convince USTR officials of the merits of a second WTO case.

Noting that Republicans had gained ground in the states as well as in Congress on Nov. 2, Barach expressed hope that state-level initiatives against biotech crops and food products would meet increased opposition. He cited voter rejection of anti-biotech ballot initiatives in three of four California counties last week.

Like other industry sources, the NFPA official was not unduly troubled by what might have occurred with a Kerry administration. "However, anytime you have a change, there is a delay in initiatives until the new players are in place," he said. "It definitely slows down the process."

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