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Monsanto product gets full US clearance

Staff Report

KARACHI: Monsanto announced on Thursday that it has received full US regulatory clearance for its Bollgard II insect-protected cotton technology, according to a press release. This announcement means that US cotton producers will have access to cottonseed containing this technology for the 2003 planting season.

“Regulatory agencies in the United States and other countries have confirmed the food, feed and environmental safety of this and other plant biotechnology products,” said Robb Fraley, chief technology officer, Monsanto.

Bollgard II is the second-generation of insect-protected cotton developed by Monsanto. This technology contains two different insect-control genes, compared to the single insect-controlled gene in its predecessor Bollgard.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Admin (FDA) also confirmed the food, feed and environment safety of this technology early this year, according to the press release.

The clearance of Bollgard II cotton by US regulatory agencies follows the successful completion of regulatory reviews by the Australian government earlier this year. In September, Australia’s Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR) approved the commercial use of Bollgard II cotton in the growing regions of New South Wales and southern Queensland.

The original Bollgard insect-protected cotton product is being sold commercially in nine countries, the United States, China, India, Mexico, Australia, Argentina, Colombia, South Africa and Indonesia. The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) recently noted that biotech cotton acreage was approximately 6.8 million hectares in 2001 or 16.8 million acres. This is an increase of 28 percent from the 2000 biotech cotton acreage, which was approximately 5.3 million hectares.

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