U.S. Seeks Stricter Rules on Biofoods

The federal government is expected to announce today a plan to tighten rules for the approval of new biofoods but regulators will not require labels on foods to clearly identify gene-spliced ingredients, U.S. food industry sources said Tuesday.

The move comes at a time when U.S. regulators have been under increasing pressure by consumer and green groups to follow the lead of the European Union, Japan, South Korea and other nations that stepped up oversight of genetically engineered crops to ease worries about long-term safety.

Current varieties of gene-altered soybeans, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, squash and other crops have been engineered to resist destructive pests and to withstand herbicides.

The FDA is expected to announce a plan to begin requiring seed companies to submit data to the agency before winning approval of new crops for commercialization, according to industry sources.