Journal or Publishing Institution: Nutrition Reviews
Author(s): Pelletier, D.L.
Article Type: Journal Publication
Record ID: 1855
Abstract: The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) 1992 policy statement granted genetically engineered foods presumptive GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status. Since then, divergent views have been expressed concerning the scientific support for this policy. This paper examines four sources to better understand the basis for these claims: 1) internal FDA correspondence; 2) reports from the National Academy of Sciences; 3) research funded by US Department of Agriculture from 1981 to 2002; and 4) FDA’s proposed rules issued in 2001. These sources reveal that little research has been conducted on unintended compositional changes from genetic engineering. Profiling techniques now make this feasible, but the new debate centers on the functional meaning of compositional changes.
Keywords: Unintended Effects, Scientific Evidence, Substantial Equivalence; Agriculture, Food, Genetic Engineering, National Academy of Sciences (U.S.), Politics, United States Food and Drug Administration, Statutes and Laws, Policy Statement; Genetically Modified Foods, Laws and Regulations, Scientific Uncertainties, Food Policy; Consumer Product Safety, Evidence-Based Medicine, Genetically Modified Food, Humans, Food Legislation, Nutrition Policy, United States
Citation: Pelletier, D.L., 2005. Science, law, and politics in FDA’s genetically engineered foods policy: scientific concerns and uncertainties. Nutrition Reviews, 63(6), pp.210-223.
