Information tools for environmental risk assessment of low level presence - an introduction to the reviews of the environmental safety of proteins used in genetically engineered plants.

Abstract

Since the first regulatory approval of a genetically engineered (GE) plant was issued in 1992, hundreds of additional GE plants, thousands of regulatory decisions and millions of tons of GE grain and seed have been produced. In an increasingly global economy, the grain and seeds move relatively freely across national jurisdictions, but the regulatory decisions and associated data and analyses do not. Combined with the realities of agricultural production, this has led to a legal and regulatory challenge due to the low level presence (LLP) of GE grain or seeds that do not have regulatory approvals in the country of destination. In order to assist regulators in conducting environmental risk assessments related to LLP, reviews of environmental safety data, including associated regulatory analyses and decisions, for proteins commonly introduced in GE plants have been produced.