USDA Announces Intention to Take Another Swing At GE Crop Rules

USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced it is considering changes to rules on genetically engineered crops that would allow the agency to focus on "risks that may be posed by certain GE organisms rather than on the methods used to produce the product."Changes to the APHIS rules would also make the regulatory process "more transparent while removing unnecessary regulatory burdens," according to the agency.The notice to be in today's Federal Register provides little insight into how the rules might be revamped, asking for stakeholder input on an array of issues related to APHIS' authority over GE plants and how interested parties may be affected.The move marks the third time APHIS has launched a rulemaking to try and change its 30-year old GE crop regulations.