Dive Brief:
- Leaders of several grain trade groups wrote a letter this month outlining their objections to a proposed update of the Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology because it "falls far short of changes needed with regard to ensuring the global marketability of bioengineered crops," Food Business News reported.
- The letter argues that the industry could combat trade disruptions by determining a "conditional deregulation” designation. This would allow trading of crops with traits that research shows are safe, but "significant U.S. export markets" have not yet approved.
- Through the Coordinated Framework and National Strategy, manufacturers are also pushing regulators to address the challenges they face in striking a compromise to balance regulatory coherence and compatibility across the global market.
Dive Insight:
Achieving a standardized global framework to better market GMO crops and products containing GMO ingredients is crucial for the food and beverage industry today. Domestic demand for non-GMO and organic products continues to outpace supply, leaving manufacturers to struggle with sourcing these ingredients. Select manufacturers — such as McCormick and Dannon — have adapted by transitioning a majority of their products to non-GMO, which farmers have opposed.
If challenges with U.S. consumers and GMO perceptions continue, manufacturers and farmers will need to improve their export situation to balance out customers lost domestically. Finding common ground with countries that ban or limit GMO-containing imports could also be a way to leverage more moderate opinions about the safety of GMOs for human and environmental health. Manufacturers could then use those partnerships to try to appeal to American consumers concerned about GMOs.