If a plant is genetically engineered to express a protein with pest control properties, the Environmental Protection Agency has oversight responsibilities throughout the development, commercialization, and post-commercialization phases. In the case of herbicide-tolerant crops, the plant itself does not have pest control properties but is made to resist a chemical that would normally kill it. In those cases, detailed herbicide residue data must be submitted for the herbicide-tolerant crop. EUPs are required at the development phase for all crops that may enter the food supply. The public is invited through published notices to comment on the EUP request.
Public comment is invited again.
For example, EPA considers the source of the gene, how the gene is expressed, the biology of the recipient plant, and the nature of the pesticide produced. Dietary intake is presumed to be a major route of exposure for food and feed plants bioengineered to produce pest control substances. For all food or feed plants producing pesticidal substances, EPA examines data on acute oral studies obtained through laboratory experiments using mice. EPA also assesses potential allergenicity and digestibility of the new pesticidal protein. EPA reviews data on the rate of degradation of the pesticidal protein in plant tissue in the soil.