The US Agriculture Department on Thursday announced plans to broaden its regulatory authority and impose stricter guidelines on plants engineered solely for the development of medicines and industrial goods.
The biotech industry has turned to corn, soybeans, tobacco, rice and sugar crops as a cheaper way to mass-produce medicines, paper, detergent and other goods. These crops are not approved for human or animal food use.
Environmentalists, consumer advocates and food industry groups have urged the US Agriculture Department to impose stricter regulations on these crops, fearing the unapproved plants could accidentally slip into the food supply.
The United States is the world's largest producer of biotech crops.
"The science of biotechnology is continually evolving, so we must ensure that our regulatory framework remains robust by anticipating and keeping pace with those changes," Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman told reporters.
US Agriculture Department aims to create a "multitiered regulatory system" that would impose stricter rules for biotech crops unapproved for human food or animal feed use.
"We'll look at whatever the biotech event is in the crop and that combination would determine what our regulatory requirements would be," said Cindy Smith, US Agriculture Department deputy administrator of biotech regulations.
Before obtaining federal permits to plant new crops, the USDA currently requires companies to submit data proving that other plants would not be adversely affected.
The US Agriculture Department said it was considering broadening its authority so companies would, in certain situations, also need to prove these crops do not pose a significant risk to people, livestock, the environment or any natural resources.
The US Agriculture Department said it would issue an "environmental impact statement" sometime this year reflecting these changes. A proposed rule would follow within months.
Food groups and the biotech industry welcomed the government's actions, saying a multitiered system would allow the United States Agriculture Department to keep pace with advances in agricultural biotechnology.
Environmental groups and consumer advocates were more skeptical.
"A tiered approval approach might serve to deregulate new genetically engineered crops with minimal scrutiny," said Joe Mendelson, legal director for the Center for Food Safety.
"Each genetically engineered event needs thorough review."