OECD Working Group on the Harmonisation of Regulatory Oversight in Biotechnology (WG-HROB)

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Working Group on the Harmonisation of Regulatory Oversight in Biotechnology works on technical issues related to the environmental risk/safety assessment of organisms that are produced through modern biotechnology. Work products, such as the plant biology documents, which form the baseline for comparative assessments, are developed by the group and finalized through a consensus process. The group involves OECD member countries, observer countries, as well as recognized observer organizations–including the Agriculture & Food Systems Institute.

The 34^th meeting of the WG-HROB was scheduled to take place in Paris, France, on March 18-20, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 emergency situation, many of the OECD face-to-face meetings and events initially scheduled for March 2020 at the OECD Headquarters were postponed. Therefore, the 34^th Meeting of the WG-HROB was held online only, with a shortened agenda focused on decision items and on the same dates, but with reduced timing. Pending the evolution of the outbreak situation, meeting room availabilities, and other practical elements, a WG-HROB face-to-face meeting may be organized in the second half of the year to cover the postponed items on the agenda and review the developments of on-going projects.

For more information, please visit the OECD website.