Overview of the Act
- This Act intends to reduce the regulatory burden and financial barriers in place for researchers and commercial breeders using precision breeding technologies.
- This Act removes the plants and animals produced using modern biotechnologies, and the food and feed derived from them, from Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) regulation if those organisms could have occurred naturally or been produced by traditional methods. It replaces GMO controls with proportionate and science-based measures.
-
The Act includes provisions to:
- Bring in two mandatory notification systems for precision bred organisms (PBOs), one for non-marketing purposes (research and development) and one for marketing purposes.
- Allow for new powers to introduce on-going obligations to report information relating to the health and welfare of precision bred vertebrate animals, and to prescribe the processes and powers the Secretary of State can use to take the necessary action in response to this post-marketing animal welfare information.
- Create a duty on the Secretary of State to create and maintain a new public register of notified information. The register is to be kept in electronic form and accessible on gov.uk.
- Grant powers to create a new regulatory framework for food and feed derived from PBOs, ensuring that appropriate regulation is in place before placing these products on the market. These powers include the power to make regulations that will outline the procedure for issuing a precision bred food and feed marketing authorisation, and the power to make regulations that will require the FSA to carry out risk assessments. Regulations will also set out the requirements within the resultant framework that must be satisfied before the Secretary of State can issue a food and feed marketing authorisation.
- Grant powers for the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to establish, publish and update a public register for PBOs authorised for food and feed use. An entry on this register would indicate that the Secretary of State has made a determination to authorise the PBO, and products derived from it to enter the market for food and feed uses based on the recommendation of the FSA.
- Grants powers to create an inspection and enforcement regime, including civil sanctions, in order to secure compliance with the obligations under the Act.
