CropLife International has re-launched the online database, biotradestatus, a global resource which provides data on the commercial status and national authorisations of plant biotech traits for cultivation, food and feed use, and importation worldwide.
Biotradestatus (www.biotradestatus.com) is the first comprehensive and searchable online database to provide both the approval and commercial status for CropLife International member companies' plant biotech traits worldwide so database users can easily determine which products are in the global marketplace.
The data on this site can be directly accessed via the Convention on Biological Diversity's (CBD) Biosafety Clearing-house (BCH). The coordination between biotradestatus and the BCH will provide signatories to the Cartagena Biosafety Protocol with significantly improved access to plant biotech trait commercial status information.
"Biotradestatus is the only centralized and accessible online database with this in-depth plant biotech trait regulatory and commercial status information, which is essential for maintaining the smooth, uninterrupted global trade of agricultural commodities," said Howard Minigh, President and CEO of CropLife International. "Its data enable the entire agricultural value chain - from farmers to grain handlers to regulators - to be fully aware of both the approval and commercial status of a biotech trait produced by CropLife International members in any country."
Biotradestatus was developed by the Biotechnology Industry Organization's (BIO) Food and Agriculture Section in 2002. The online database will now be managed by CropLife International, the global federation representing the plant science industry. Visitors can search the biotradestatus website for cultivation, food and feed use, and importation approval data by crop, trait developer, country, and individual event name.
"CropLife International is looking forward to maintaining and increasing the use of biotradestatus, especially as new plant biotech innovations are introduced to the market and the international trade of biotech grains continues to rise," said Minigh. "The agricultural food value chain appreciates BIO's initiation of this valuable resource, and CropLife International looks forward to working with the CBD Secretariat to continue to promote the value of the database."
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