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Federal Court rules APHIS errors were significant in GE case

The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service says it’s determining its next steps after a federal court vacated the agency’s genetically engineered final rule from 2020.

The Northern District of California judge said the agency’s errors in the final rule were significant and ignored more than a decade of regulations that incorporated noxious-weed authority.

The court sided with the lead plaintiff Center for Food Safety that the regulations violated the Plant Protection Act and the Administrative Procedure Act.

The judge said the final rule exempted GE plants created by conventional breeding techniques while conflicting scientific evidence.

In vacating the rule, approval of GE crops will default to prior regulations while APHIS reconsiders changes.

In a statement to Brownfield, the American Seed Trade Association says they and BIO are reviewing the ruling. Both groups joined the lawsuit to highlight the benefits access to innovative products of biotechnology and plant breeding provides to American farmers, consumers, and the environment.

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