Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76SEPTEMBER 2016 SEEDWORLD.COM / 61 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 OBAMA SIGNS GMO LABELING BILL President Barack Obama has signed into law a landmark agreement that advocates say protects America’s food supply system from a harm- ful patchwork of varying state labeling laws for foods made with genetically modified, or GMO, ingredients. The historic federal law will give consumers access to more product infor- mation than ever before and ensure a transparent national system for disclosing ingre- dients without stigmatizing a safe and proven technology. ARCTIC FIJI APPLE ONE STEP CLOSER TO DEREGULATION The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has publicly shared the final version of Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc.’s petition seeking regulatory approval for Arctic Fuji apples, a non- browning variety produced through biotechnology. In an announcement published Aug. 10, 2016, USDA APHIS stated that they have reached a preliminary decision to extend their determination of non-regulated status to the Arctic Fuji variety. USDA APHIS will initiate a public comment period, during which time the public is encouraged to submit their input on Arctic Fuji apples for APHIS’ review. INTERNATIONAL BRAZIL PAVES THE WAY FOR U.S. CORN IMPORTS In the Brazilian government’s latest attempt to provide relief to pork and poultry produc- ers, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food Supply (MAPA) will ask the National Biosafety Technical Commission (CTNBio) to allow imports of genetically modified corn from the United States. The second Brazilian maize crop is looking worse as harvest continues, and there are fears that Brazil will run out of corn by 2017. CHINA BACKS GMO SOYBEANS China will push for the com- mercialization of genetically modified soybeans over the next five years as it seeks to raise the efficiency of its agriculture sector, potentially boosting output of the crop by the world’s top soy importer and consumer. In its latest five-year plan for science and technology to 2020, China for the first time outlined specific GMO crops to be developed, including soybeans and corn. ROUNDUP READY 2 XTEND SOYBEAN GETS EU IMPORT APPROVAL The European Commission has granted import approval for the Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybean. This allows for the import and food/ feed use of the product into the European Union. The European Commission’s approval follows Monsanto’s February announcement of Chinese import approval. With both the EU and Chinese import approvals and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the final stages of review for over-the- top use, Monsanto looks to a full system launch in the United States in 2017. SOUTH KOREA APPROVES ENLIST COTTON FOR FOOD USE South Korea recently approved Enlist cotton for food use. The South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety ruling gives full feed and food import approval for cotton varieties contain- ing the Enlist trait. The ruling allows use of cottonseed oil and products in the country’s food system. This means U.S. cotton growers can plant varieties containing the Enlist trait with confidence. Cotton grown using this technology now has full export approval in key countries, according to Dow AgroSciences, which developed the new weed control system. TANZANIA SAYS IT’S READY FOR BIOTECH CROPS The permanent secretary of Tanzania’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Florens Turuka, has con- firmed the country’s readiness to transact business on GM crops. Speaking at the launch of the ISAAA Global Report on Commercialized Biotech/ GM Crops (2015), Turuka said the government intends to revolutionize agriculture in the African country by introduc- ing biotech crops to improve the quality of yields. CANADA DEREGISTERS THREE FLAXSEED VARIETIES The Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) has can- celled the registration for the following flaxseed varieties effective Aug. 1, 2017. At that time, CDC Arras, Flanders and Somme will be removed from the variety designation list for flaxseed. As of Aug. 1, 2017, these varieties will only be eligible for the lowest grade. The CGC is the federal agency responsible for establishing and maintaining Canada’s grain quality standards. Its programs result in shipments of grain that consistently meet contract specifications for quality, safety and quantity. JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA BLOCK SOME U.S. WHEAT VARIETIES OVER GMO CONCERNS Japan and South Korea have both blocked some imports of U.S. wheat after unap- proved genetically modified plants were found grow- ing in Washington state, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture told Reuters. Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry said it will suspend purchases of all Western White wheat from the United States for food use, and all purchases of Western White wheat from the U.S. West Coast, but not from the Gulf, for feed use until it can start testing incoming shipments, according to the USDA. MALAWI BOLSTERS SEED INSPECTION In a bid to strengthen seed quality control mechanisms in Malawi, 112 seed inspectors from government and the private sector were trained in three groups, as part of the Feed the Future Malawi Improved Seed Systems and Technologies project. Malawi’s expanding seed sector made it hard for the 25 government seed inspectors to carry out effective inspections. SW