The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authority under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act) to ensure the safety and wholesomeness of most foods, except meat and poultry, including foods developed through modern biotechnology. In 1990, FDA issued the first regulation for the use of a recombinant DNA-produced food ingredient, fermentation-derived chymosin (rennet). In 1992, FDA published a policy statement that explains how foods and animal feeds derived from new plant varieties developed by both conventional and new breeding techniques are regulated under the Act.
