- USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is “deregulating” a genetically engineered (GE) corn (strain MON 95379) which has been modified to resist pests, including corn earworms, fall armyworms, and sugar cane borers. The docket on regulations.gov is APHIS-2020-0113.
- APHIS has the authority to regulate genetically engineered organisms that are plant pests or for which there is a reason to believe that they are plant pests. See Regulations in 7 CFR Part 340 including definition of “regulated article.” However, under 7 CFR 340.6, a petition may be submitted for determination of non-regulated status, which requires demonstrating that the organism is unlikely to pose a greater plant pest risk than the unmodified organism. A list of deregulated organisms can be found at Petitions for Determination of Nonregulated Status | Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
- The petition process that resulted in this action was restarted after the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California vacated USDA’s final rule for organisms developed using genetic engineering. Prior to that decision, USDA had replaced the petition process with a streamlined regulatory status review (RSR) process. RSRs issued prior to the court order remain in place.