These varieties are presently in the third round of field trials and, assuming no problems emerge, will be eligible for registration for release in another two years. However, no production will take place without market sales, and no sales without food safety approval. That process was, however, facilitated by prior FDA approval based on an extensive application portfolio. The virus resistant potatoes, however, are not the subject of FDA application, nor of approval in any other country. This issue must be decided by Mexico itself.
Industry has an interest in the rapid adoption of workable food safety regulations.
One group of firms, as they increasingly move to bioengineered products, will require those regulations to continue the export of food products. That too requires food safety approval. The worst regulatory environment for a company is one where there is no process to be followed nor any identified agency to make a final ruling. The food safety process discussed here is intended to avoid that situation. The issue here is to develop appropriate mechanisms in developing countries, taking into account, among other things, the more limited resources available compared to most industrialized countries.