United States Department of Agriculture

Agricultural Marketing Service

Federal Grain Inspection Service

Directive 9180.67 December 10, 2019

Distribution: FGIS, OSP, Industry Originating Office: FMD PPMAB

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in its programs on the basis of race, color, 

national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, and marital or familial status. (Not all prohibited 

bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternate means for communication of program 

information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and 

TDD).

To file a complaint, write to the USDA, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, 

Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal employment opportunity 

employer.

LETTERHEAD TRANSGENIC AND BIOTECHNOLOGY STATEMENT FOR 

GRAIN AND GRADED COMMODITIES

Contents

1. PURPOSE �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

2. REPLACEMENT HIGHLIGHTS �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

3. BACKGROUND �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

4. STATEMENT �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

5. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
FGIS Directive 9180.67 December 10, 2019

Page 2

1. PURPOSE

This directive provides the approved letterhead statement pertaining to the transgenic 

(genetic engineering) status of grain and graded commodities in United States 

commerce

2. REPLACEMENT HIGHLIGHTS

This directive replaces FGIS Directive 9180.67 dated 1-25-07  It is revised to provid

a single statement reflecting the current transgenic status of certain commodities to 

ensure the statement reflects current regulatory policy. Additionally, it is revised to make 

minor editorial changes

3. BACKGROUND

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) often receives requests from buyers, sellers, 

and processors of U.S. grown commodities such as grain and pulses to provid

a letterhead statement indicating the transgenic status of these commodities in 

commercial production in the United States.

The U.S. Government deregulates some agricultural commodities for commercia

production in the United States, while others remain regulated. The regulatory status of 

these agricultural commodities falls within three categories:

a. Regulated and not for commercial production in the United State

b. Deregulated, but based upon information supplied by the developer, not for sale or 

in commercial production

c. Deregulated and in commercial production in the United State

Advances in technology such as genome editing compel updating of the transgenic 

status letterhead statements issued by AMS.

4. STATEMENT

To facilitate the marketing of U.S. grains and pulses, AMS will provide, upon request of a 

stakeholder, one factual letterhead statement for relevant commodities. The statement 

aligns with the current state of technology and U.S. Government regulatory

processes

The new letterhead transgenic status statement is: 

“There are no transgenic barley, wheat, sorghum, sunflower seed, dry edible beans, 

chickpeas, lentils, peas, or rice currently or previously subject to USDA’s biotechnology 

regulations that are for sale or in commercial production in the United States for food or 

feed use at this time.
FGIS Directive 9180.67 December 10, 2019

Page 3

Because of the rapidly evolving nature of the technology, the approved statement may 

be amended on short notice. If the letterhead statement requires future updating, this 

Directive will be updated to reflect new language.

The letterhead transgenic status statement will not be found elsewhere on the AMS 

website. This Directive is the only source of the available letterhead transgenic status 

statement

5. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For additional information about the regulatory and commercial status of grain, pulses,

and other agricultural commodities reviewed by the U.S. Government, please consult:

https://www.usda.gov/topics/biotechnology/how-federal-government-regulates-biotechplants

For information concerning the letterhead statement, contact the Policies, Procedures,

and Market Analysis Branch at (202) 720-0228.