The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced on May 30, 2024, that it recently reviewed the following plants modified using genetic engineering to determine whether they pose an increased plant pest risk relative to non-modified comparators:

• Pioneer, corn with insect and herbicide resistance;

• CoverCress, pennycress with altered product quality;

• Qi Biodesign, soybean with altered product quality; and

• Michigan State University, two potato plants with disease (potato late blight and potato virus Y) resistance.

APHIS states that it found that “these modified plants were unlikely to pose an increased plant pest risk compared to other cultivated plants.” As a result, they are not subject to regulation under 7 C.F.R. Part 340. APHIS notes that “[f]rom a plant pest risk perspective, these modified plants may be safely grown and bred in the United States.” More information is available on APHIS’s regulatory status review (RSR) table.

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