Russia Drafts Regulations for Genetically Engineered Feed, Animals
The Russian Ministry of Agriculture drafted regulatory documents for safety assessment and testing of genetically engineered (GE) ingredients for feeds, feed additives and veterinary pharmaceuticals. It also drafted documents for GE animals, GE microorganisms and a regulatory document that outlined the functions of the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (VPSS) at the Ministry of Agriculture in these assessments and testing. There were nine documents in total.
A resolution dated July 5, 1996, stated:
“In accordance with Article 7 of Federal Law dated July 05, 1996, No. 86-FZ “On the state regulation in the sphere of genetic engineering activities,” the Government of the Russian Federation hereby resolves:
1. To approve the attached Rules for monitoring of the effects of genetically-engineered-modified organisms and products derived from such organisms or containing such organisms on humans and the environment and control over the release of such organisms into the environment to be conducted by the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance.
2. The authorities envisaged in this Resolution shall be exercised by the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance within the limits established by the RF Government on the numbers of employees in the headquarters and local bodies of the above Service, as well as the budget appropriations provided to it in the federal budget for supervision and management in the sphere of designated functions.”
These documents were drafted in accordance with the Government Resolution No. 839 of September 23, 2013, which required the Ministry of Agriculture to develop a mechanism for registration of feeds. The Resolution No. 839 was scheduled to come into force on July 1, 2017.
All drafts were posted on the portal of the draft government documents (www.regulation.gov.ru). If adopted, the documents will have great impact on the development of Russian agricultural biotechnology and on trade in agricultural products and veterinary pharmaceuticals. However, these draft documents were not notified to WTO.
To read the GAIN report, which contains unofficial translations of these nine draft documents, click here.
