FDLI's Food and Drug Policy Forum Examines European GMO Rules

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The second issue of FDLI's Food and Drug Policy Forum (Volume 1, Number 2), to be published January 26, 2011, focuses on the increasingly important issue of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

In the article published on the Food and Drug Law Institute's website (www.fdli.org), Ross H. Pifer, Director, and Richard J. Lupinsky, Jr., Research Fellow at the Agricultural Law Resource and Reference Center at Penn State University's Dickinson School of Law, make recommendations on this emerging international food and drug issue: "Should the European Union Proceed with the Implementation of New GMO Rules?"

Pifer and Lupinsky conclude that new GMO rules in the European Union need additional clarity to create a proper framework for the approval of genetically modified products, explaining that "stakeholders on all sides believe that the proposal actually will increase legal uncertainty and create more chaos surrounding both the decision-making process and labeling standards." The authors specifically recommend that the European Commission modify the major standard expressed in proposed Article 26b(a), a European Union Member States' Directive, to better explain the specific bases upon which Member States can restrict or prohibit cultivation of particular GMOs, integrate and harmonize the content of Article 26b with the Safeguard Clause, and maintain uniform standards of labeling for GMOs.

FDLI's Food and Drug Policy Forum is a twice-a-month, peer-reviewed, digital publication on current food and drug policy topics. Posed in the form of a question, each issue provides subscribers and purchasers with pertinent background information, relevant research, a discussion of central issues, relevant resources and policy recommendations. The views, opinions and statements expressed in the Policy Forum are those of the authors. The Food and Drug Law Institute neither contributes to nor endorses Policy Forum articles. As a nonprofit 501 (c) (3) organization, FDLI does not engage in advocacy activities.

FDLI, founded in 1949, is a non-profit organization that provides a marketplace for discussing food and drug law issues through conferences, publications and member interaction. FDLI's scope includes food, drugs, animal drugs, biologics, cosmetics, diagnostics, dietary supplements, medical devices and tobacco.

FDLI members receive the Policy Forum as a benefit of their membership. Non-members may subscribe to the Forum for a fee.

SOURCE Food and Drug Law Institute