Overview
While the majority of governments design safety assessments of genetically engineered (GE) foods around the Codex Alimentarius’ principles and guidelines, there remain significant differences in the practical application of requirements at national and regional levels. This adds complexity, time, and cost to the regulatory process, further exacerbates asynchronous authorizations, and stands in the way of achieving regional or sub-regional regulatory cooperation.
What We Are Doing
The Agriculture & Food Systems Institute’s efforts focus on technical training of regulators and public sector scientists who are called upon to undertake safety assessments on behalf of institutional or national biosafety committees. This includes training around concepts and principles of GE food safety assessment, as well as providing experiential learning opportunities in, for example, state of the art testing facilities.

Current Work

Understanding the Use and Safety of Microbial Biotechnology for Novel Foods
Microbial biotechnology, which includes the use of both conventional and genetically engineered microbes, is used to produce a range of foods, beverages, and their ingredients including:
- Enzymes used to make wine, cheese, beer, and processed products ranging from baked goods to sauces.
- Vitamins used to make infant formula similar to human milk and wellness-enhancing products.
- Food additives for seasoning, flavoring, coloring, or thickening, including those used for plant-based meat products, and many other applications.
Supported by a grant from the New Technologies and Production Methods Division at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Trade Policy and Geographic Affairs (TPGA) area, the Agri-culture & Food Systems Institute is developing a series of seminars and workshops focused on bringing increased attention to the development, use, and safety assessment process for microbial biotechnology. The goal is to help countries implement informed polices that meet the need for governments, producers, and consumers to assess and access products produced using microbial biotechnologies.
The Agriculture & Food Systems Institute launched our program with the Microbial Biotechnology for Novel Foods Webinar Series, which addressed the past, present, and future of microbial biotechnology for novel foods. Taking place between July 9-17, 2020, each of four webinars allowed for an open discussion on the topics of safety, regulation, and trade of products of microbial biotechnology, enriched by companion papers prepared by each of the expert presenters.
New activities in 2021 will include a series of international and regional workshops combining online and in-person programming.
Events
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December 9, 2020
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September 22, 2020-October 20, 2020
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September 23, 2020
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June 15, 2020-August 15, 2020
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July 9, 2020-July 17, 2020
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June 23, 2020-June 24, 2020
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May 12, 2020
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March 23, 2020-March 24, 2020
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March 18, 2020-March 20, 2020
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February 20, 2020
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February 12, 2020-February 13, 2020
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November 13, 2019-November 14, 2019
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November 11, 2019-November 13, 2019
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October 8, 2019-October 9, 2019
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September 14, 2019-September 16, 2019
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July 10, 2019-July 11, 2019
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June 17, 2019-June 21, 2019
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June 11, 2019-June 12, 2019
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May 19, 2019-May 24, 2019
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April 8, 2019-April 10, 2019
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April 4, 2019-April 5, 2019
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March 31, 2019
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March 12, 2019-March 13, 2019
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March 4, 2019-March 5, 2019
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March 5, 2019-March 7, 2019
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January 22, 2019
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November 1, 2018-November 2, 2018
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October 23, 2018-October 27, 2018
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September 15, 2018-September 17, 2018
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July 23, 2018-July 25, 2018
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June 26, 2018-June 27, 2018
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June 25, 2018-June 28, 2018
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June 25, 2018-June 26, 2018
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June 12, 2018-June 15, 2018
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April 5, 2018
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April 3, 2018-April 4, 2018
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February 21, 2018-February 22, 2018
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February 19, 2018-February 22, 2018
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February 14, 2018
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February 3, 2018-February 4, 2018
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November 15, 2017-November 16, 2017
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November 6, 2017-November 10, 2017
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October 18, 2017-October 20, 2017
World Food Prize
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October 11, 2017-October 13, 2017
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September 11, 2017-September 13, 2017
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August 18, 2017-August 19, 2017
APEC High Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology Workshop
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August 1, 2017-August 3, 2017
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June 26, 2017-June 28, 2017
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June 20, 2017-June 22, 2017
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June 4, 2017-June 8, 2017
ISBGMO14
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April 22, 2017-April 27, 2017
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April 21, 2017
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March 30, 2017-March 31, 2017
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March 27, 2017-March 29, 2017
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January 23, 2017
Agriculture & Food Systems Institute Scientific Session 2017
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December 15, 2016-December 16, 2016
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November 10, 2016
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October 24, 2016-October 28, 2016
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October 24, 2016-October 25, 2016
CQuest: Charting a Course for Climate Research in Agriculture
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October 23, 2016-October 26, 2016
American Association of Cereal Chemists International Annual Meeting
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October 16, 2016-October 19, 2016
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September 19, 2016-September 21, 2016
South Asia Biosafety Conference
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September 21, 2016-September 23, 2016
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September 15, 2016-September 16, 2016
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August 17, 2016-August 19, 2016
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July 1, 2016
Climate Change, Nutrition & Health: Building Collaborative Structures
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May 25, 2016-May 27, 2016
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May 19, 2016-May 21, 2016
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May 18, 2016
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May 17, 2016-May 18, 2016
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May 16, 2016-May 18, 2016
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April 19, 2016-April 21, 2016
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April 13, 2016-April 15, 2016
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April 2, 2016-April 6, 2016
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February 25, 2016
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February 22, 2016-February 23, 2016
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February 18, 2016
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January 25, 2016
Agriculture & Food Systems Institute Scientific Session
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December 15, 2015
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December 10, 2015
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December 9, 2015
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November 19, 2015
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October 11, 2015-October 14, 2015
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September 19, 2015-September 20, 2015
South Asia Biosafety Conference
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July 30, 2015-July 31, 2015
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July 19, 2015-July 25, 2015
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June 21, 2015-June 26, 2015
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May 28, 2015
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May 25, 2015-May 26, 2015
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May 11, 2015-May 15, 2015
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April 27, 2015-April 30, 2015
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April 19, 2015-April 21, 2015
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April 15, 2015-April 17, 2015
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February 25, 2015-February 28, 2015
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February 17, 2015
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November 9, 2014-November 13, 2014
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September 14, 2014
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September 15, 2014-September 19, 2014
Phase II: Workshop on the Safety Assessment of Food Derived from Genetically Engineered Plants
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September 15, 2014-September 16, 2014
South Asia Biosafety Conference
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September 11, 2014-September 12, 2014
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June 23, 2014-June 27, 2014
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March 20, 2014-March 21, 2014
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November 15, 2013-November 16, 2013
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October 9, 2013
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September 29, 2013-October 2, 2013
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September 18, 2013-September 20, 2013
South Asia Biosafety Conference
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June 11, 2013-June 13, 2013
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June 11, 2013
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May 16, 2013-May 17, 2013
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January 10, 2013-January 11, 2013
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December 11, 2012-December 12, 2012
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June 21, 2012-June 22, 2012
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April 15, 2012-April 17, 2012
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November 17, 2011-November 18, 2011
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March 2, 2011-March 3, 2011
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August 16, 2010-August 17, 2010
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August 17, 2009-August 18, 2009
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August 12, 2009-August 15, 2009