The landmark legal battle over who owns the intellectual property rights in genetically modified plants is heating up. Originally published in Law360 - October 23, 2024....more
In its two Confédération Paysanne decisions (cases C-528/161 and C-688/21), the Court of Justice of the European Union limited the exclusion of plants and products obtained by new genomic techniques (NGTs) from the...more
A court has invalidated the portion of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS’s) final rule implementing the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (BE Rule) that allows...more
On 28 September 2020, the European Commission authorized a genetically modified organism (GMO) for food and feed use: the glyphosate resistant soybean MON 87708 x MON 89788 x MON A5547-127. The authorization of these...more
The United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued an instruction to field personnel, FSIS Notice 49-20, to begin implementing the agency’s new Adulterated Product Monitoring...more
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has released Draft Instructions on Testing Methods (Draft Instructions) for use in compliance with the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure...more
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued an updated Labeling Guideline on Statements That Bioengineered or Genetically-Modified Ingredients or Animal Feed Were Not...more
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is seeking public comment on draft instructions to validate a refining process under the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard...more
On June 11, 2019, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to ease rules for...more
Starting on January 1, 2020 The USDA will require certain products that contain Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) to have a “Biological Engineered” or “BE” label. ...more
FDA Holds Public Meeting on Cannabis - On May 31, 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held a widely anticipated public hearing with stakeholders on cannabis and cannabis-derived compounds to gain insights on...more
20 years or five months? On March 8, 2019, nearly 20 years after AquaBounty Technology discovered a novel approach to increase the growth of Atlantic salmon, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally “deactivated”...more
On December 21, 2018, the Agricultural Marketing Service (“AMS”) of the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) issued its long-anticipated final rule establishing requirements for the disclosure of food that is...more
Yesterday the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) released its final rule implementing the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS) passed by Congress in July 2016. In...more
LEGISLATION, REGULATIONS & STANDARDS - INTERIOR DEPT. TO ALLOW GMO CULTIVATION ON NATIONAL LANDS - The U.S. Department of the Interior has reportedly withdrawn a 2014 memorandum prohibiting the cultivation of genetically...more
On June 4, 2018, Bloomberg Environment (subscription required) reported on the planned spinoff of DowDupont Inc’s Corteva Agriscience (Corteva) unit. This split, which is expected to occur by June 1, 2019, was originally...more
On May 3, 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) released its much-anticipated proposed rule to establish a national standard for the disclosure of bioengineered ingredients in certain food products. ...more
On May 3, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) issued its proposed rule implementing the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS) passed by Congress in July 2016....more
The European Court of Justice has held that Member States may not adopt emergency measures prohibiting genetically modified food and feed (GMOs) unless there is clear evidence that a particular GMO presents a serious risk to...more
In our last issue of the International Food Law Gazette, we reported on the changing legal landscape for the labeling of genetically engineered (GE) foods (more commonly referred to as genetically modified organisms, or GMO)....more
From the earliest days of recombinant DNA technology, there has been worry in the policy community and among the public about the release and consumption of genetically engineered (GE) crops, especially crops for human...more
On November 18, 2016, the Ninth Circuit issued five rulings rejecting three Hawaii counties’ attempts to regulate pesticides and genetically modified crops, finding that the regulations were preempted by state and federal...more
Alika Atay et al v. County of Maui, et al, No. 15-16466 (9th Cir., Nov. 18, 2016) - Hawai’i Papaya Indus. Assn., et al v. County of Hawaii, No. 14-17538 (9th Circ., Nov. 18, 2016) - Robert Ito Farm, Inc., et al. v. County...more
With Congress’s freshly enacted GMO labeling bill, the devil is in the implementing details. On July 29, US President Barack Obama signed legislation that establishes a national disclosure requirement for identifying...more
On July 7, 2016, the U.S. Senate passed an important amendment to S. 764 to establish a mandatory nationwide labeling approach for genetically engineered (GE) foods, more popularly referred to as genetically modified...more