To date, the government has not made any decisions about requiring mandatory labeling. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Committee charged with reviewing this issue has deferred a decision until June 1999. We will, of course, be monitoring this situation closely and our USDA staff in Japan will be working to address U.S. concerns with the Japanese proposal. Other Asian countries are watching the actions of the United States, Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand while moving forward to establish their own regulatory frameworks. The event was cosponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Many Asian nations have active biotechnology research programs.
For example, the Philippine Congress is seeking advice on how to market a broad range of products such as virus-resistant papaya and bananas, and coconuts with increased fatty acids. Korea's National Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology has developed transgenic rice that is resistant to bacterial leaf blight and is working to isolate genes associated with carotenoid biosynthesis in hot peppers. In addition to the actions I described earlier, USDA has undertaken regular efforts to share information, conduct bilateral talks, and sponsor international symposia and workshops to facilitate international understanding of our regulatory process, the factors we take into account in conducting safety assessments, and our labeling policy. Although the roles of our regulatory and trade agencies are very distinct, we collaborate in the education of our trading partners on our regulatory process. In Latin America, we have been working especially closely with Argentina and Chile.