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Safety Assessments and Public Concern for Genetically Modified Food Products: The American View

BIOrational Consultants, Inc, New Brighton, Minnesota 55112, USA, SKHARLAND{at}aol.com

In the relatively short time since their commercial introduction in 1996, genetically modified (GM) crops have been rapidly adopted in the United States GM crops are regulated through a coordinated framework developed in 1992 and administered by three agencies—the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) that ensures the products are safe to grow, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that ensures the products are safe for the environment, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that ensures the products are safe to eat. Rigorous food and environmental safety assessments must be completed before GM crops can be commercialized. Fifty-one products have been reviewed by the FDA, including several varieties of corn, soybeans, canola, cotton, rice, sugar beets, potatoes, tomatoes, squash, papaya, and flax. Because FDA considers these crops "substantially equivalent" to their conventional counterparts, no special labeling is required for GM crops in the United States and they are managed as commodities with no segregation or identity preservation. GM crops have thus made their way through commodity distribution channels into thousands of ingredients used in processed foods. It has been estimated that 70% to 85% of processed foods on supermarket shelves in the United States today contain one or more ingredients potentially derived from GM crops. The food industry and retail industry have been monitoring the opinions of their consumers on the GM issue for the past several years. Numerous independent groups have also surveyed consumer concerns about GM foods. The results of these surveys are shared and discussed here.

Key Words: Genetically modified food • safety assessment • public concerns • regulation.

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