76 / SEEDWORLD.COM FEBRUARY 2019 REGULATORY ROUNDUP Keeping you informed of legislative and regulatory changes at the state, national and international levels — from lawsuits to approvals to other regulatory issues affecting your business. NATIONAL ESTABLISHING THE NATIONAL BIOENGINEERED FOOD DISCLOSURE STANDARD U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the creation of the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard. The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Law, passed by Congress in July of 2016, directed USDA to estab- lish this national mandatory standard for disclosing foods that may be bioengineered. The Standard requires food manufacturers and certain retailers to ensure bioengi- neered foods are appropri- ately disclosed. “The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard increases the transparency of our nation’s food system. This ensures clear information and labeling consistency for con- sumers about the ingredients in their food,” says Perdue. The Standard defines bioengineered foods as those that contain detectable genetic material that has been modified through lab tech- niques and cannot be created through conventional breed- ing or found in nature. The implementation date of the Standard is January 1, 2020, except for small food manu- facturers, whose implementa- tion date is January 1, 2021. The mandatory compliance date is January 1, 2022. Regulated entities may voluntarily comply until December 31, 2021. CALYXT RECEIVES EU PATENT ON USE OF CRISPR FOR GENOME EDITING IN PLANTS Calyxt, Inc. announced the issuance of European patent No. 3008186, which claims methods to create gene- edited plants by the transient delivery of sequence-specific nucleases, including CRISPR/ Cas9. This patent, granted by the European Patent Office, is owned by Cellectis and licensed exclusively to Calyxt. “Conventionally, gene edit- ing is performed by delivering DNA to cells,” says Dan Voytas, Calyxt’s Chief Science Officer and University of Minnesota professor. “The DNA encodes a nuclease, such as CRISPR/ Cas9, which makes the gene edit. The problem with con- ventional gene editing is that DNA can integrate randomly into the genome, creating off- target effects. For example, genes can be disrupted by the incoming DNA that you didn’t intend to disrupt. Calyxt has accomplished a precise method of gene editing that creates plants with the desired traits.” INTERNATIONAL GLOBAL INITIATIVE ANNOUNCED TO PROTECT WORLD’S PLANTS FROM PESTS United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has pro- claimed 2020 the International Year of Plant Health to raise global awareness of plant health, and its role in increas- ing food security. The UNGA Plenary approved the draft resolution during the 73rd session in New York City on December 20, 2018. “Plants are the founda- tion of life on earth and we are proud to be part of this initiative to protect the world’s plant resources from pests,” says ISF secretary general Michael Keller. “We will be strengthening our stake- holder engagement to garner support for the International Year of Plant Health, and to highlight the importance of healthy seed to plant health.” It is anticipated that the International Year of Plant Health will support the imple- mentation of the International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures on the International Movement of Seed that was adopted in 2017. UK: BAN ON THE OUTDOOR USE OF METALDEHYDE IN 2020 A ban on the outdoor use of metaldehyde, a pesticide used to control slugs in a range of crops and in gardens, is to be introduced across Great Britain from spring 2020, the Environment Secretary announced December 19, 2018. The decision to prohibit the use of metaldehyde, except in permanent green- houses, follows advice from the UK Expert Committee on Pesticides (ECP) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) that metaldehyde poses an unacceptable risk to birds and mammals. The outdoor use of met- aldehyde will be phased out over 18 months to give grow- ers time to adjust to other methods of slug control. It will be legal to sell metaldehyde products for outdoor use for the next six months, with use of the products then allowed for a further 12 months. SW Seed and grain cleanerS for the world Crippen Northland Superior Supply Co. 8-851 Lagimodiere Blvd. Winnipeg, MB Ph: 204-925-6141 www.northlandsuperior.com Air Screen Cleaners Indented Cylinder Length Separator Gravity Separator