Regulation:

product is safe to grow, while the EPA reviews the product for potential impact on the environment. The FDA meanwhile is concerned with protecting the consumer and has final authority to declare if a product is safe to eat. To date, approximately 50 bio-engineered food crops have been approved through this process, and have found their way into thousands of processed foods.

Since biotechnology is still a relatively new technology, there is much debate as to the adequacy of the current regulatory process. Various committees and independent authors have reviewed the process and made recommendations for improvement. Currently, the US determines the level of testing required through an assessment of a new crop's "substantial equivalence" with a pre-existing crop. This approach requires less rigorous testing than the European system, which examines each product for risks.