Lax oversight of gene-altered crops found

USDA's auditor has found that the agency's oversight of field trials of genetically engineered (GE) crops is highly deficient. In a report issued in late December, the inspector general says weaknesses in USDA's regulations and internal management controls for GE crop trials pose risks to the environment and public health. The regulatory branch "lacks basic information about the field test sites it approves and is responsible for monitoring, including where and how the crops are being grown and what becomes of them at the end of the field test," the report says. Specifically, it says that the Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, the agency that oversees the field trials, often does not know the precise locations of the field test sites; APHIS does not review containment protocols before approving field trials; and applicants are not required to report on final disposition of crops designed to produce pharmaceuticals and industrial compounds, which may pose a threat to the food supply if unintentionally released. APHIS officials say they have begun to implement many of the inspector general's recommendations. They disagree, however, with five of them, including the advice to obtain copies of the scientific protocols for conducting field trials.