APHIS reopens comment period on genetically engineered corn

June 3, 2009

BY Erin Krueger

Report posted June 10, 2009, at 11:45 a.m. CST

USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced June 4 that it has reopened the comment period on a petition submitted by Syngenta Seeds Inc. that seeks a determination of nonregulated status for its corn variety that has been genetically engineered to produce an enzyme that facilitates ethanol production. Comments will be accepted until July 6.

APHIS originally received Syngenta's petition in October 2005. The petition stated that the genetically engineered corn is unlikely to pose a plant pest risk, and therefore should be not be a regulated article under APHIS regulations. The original 60-day comment period opened by APHIS regarding the petition resulted in more than 13,000 comments.

According to information published in the June 4 issue of the Federal Register, APHIS received approximately 40 comments from organizations or individuals that support the deregulation of Syngenta's genetically engineered corn. Most of these comments came from organizations that represent corn farmers and the ethanol industry. The agency also received more than 13,000 comments in opposition to the degreguation. These comments consisted primarily of letters containing identical points complied by organizations that are generally opposed to any genetic engineering of plants.

"The previous comment period did have a lot of response, and this current comment period has been opened to allow people more time to comment because the response both for and against deregulation was fairly high from both sides," said Jim Barrett, a public affairs specialist at APHIS.

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