Compliance Know-How: Workshop Offers Guidance

At BIO’s recent Focus on Compliance workshop, participants learned about the responsible use of plant biotechnology during R&D.

Attendees from academia, government and corporations walked away from the event with a better understanding of how to comply with federal requirements during field trials of genetically engineered crops such as corn, cotton and soybeans.

Conducted in conjunction with the National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants (NAICC) Annual Meeting at the Wyndham Resort in Orlando, Fla., the workshop evolved from the Beyond Compliance Task Force that BIO launched in 2002.

Program Particulars

The biotech industry has pooled knowledge in bringing new products to market and is sharing that knowledge through the agricultural sector, including academic institutions, farmer-cooperators and commercial entities. All can benefit from a greater understanding of how to meet federal requirements for regulatory compliance.

Michael Wach, managing director for science and regulatory affairs at BIO, led the half-day workshop. Wach is also acting executive director of the Excellence Through Stewardship industry initiative and came to BIO from the U.S. Agriculture Department. Kate Walker, BIO manager of the Food and Agriculture section, assisted Wach as a co-presenter.

The Focus on Compliance workshop was developed in conjunction with AGBIOS, an agricultural biotech consultancy. The program focused on developing tools to create or revise compliance programs for regulated articles, proven methods to assist in compliance with regulatory requirements for regulated field trials, and tested methods to meet federal reporting requirements.

The workshop manual delves into the U.S. regulatory system for genetically engineered plants and foods, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service regulatory requirements, field trials, audit and verification and the Environmental Protection Agency experimental-use permit program for plant-incorporated protectants.

For more information, contact Kate Walker at kwalker@bio.org.