Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard; List of Bioengineered Foods rule (2023)

What is a significant rule? Significant regulatory action is a term used to describe an agency rule that has had or might have a large impact on the economy, environment, public health, or state or local governments. These actions may also conflict with other rules or presidential priorities. As part of its role in the regulatory review process, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) determines which rules meet this definition. |
Administrative State |
---|
![]() |
Five Pillars of the Administrative State |
•Agency control • Executive control • Judicial control •Legislative control • Public Control |
Click here for more coverage of the administrative state on Ballotpedia.
|
Click here to access Ballotpedia's administrative state legislation tracker. |
The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard; List of Bioengineered Foods rule is a significant rule issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Agricultural Marketing Service effective December 29, 2023, that adds insect-resistant sugarcane and modifies the summer squash entry in the USDA's List of Bioengineered Foods.[1]
Timeline
The following timeline details key rulemaking activity:
- June 23, 2025: The compliance requirement took effect.[1]
- December 29, 2023: Final rule took effect.[1]
- November 29, 2023: Final rule published.[1]
- September 20, 2022: Comment period closed.[1]
- July 22, 2022: Proposed rule issued.[1]
Background
The USDA, in accordance with the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, established a national standard for disclosing genetically modified or bioengineered foods (BE foods) through a 2018 BE final rule. The rule, effective from February 19, 2019, includes a List of specified genetically modified crops subject to disclosure. This final rule updates the List, adding sugarcane (Bt insect-resistant varieties) and amending squash (summer) to include mosaic virus-resistant varieties based on public comments and consultations with relevant government agencies.
Summary of the rule
The following is a summary of the rule from the rule's entry in the Federal Register:[1]
“ | This final rule updates the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard's (the Standard) List of Bioengineered (BE) Foods (the List) by adding “sugarcane (Bt insect-resistant varieties)” to the List and amending “squash (summer)” to “squash (summer, coat protein-mediated virus-resistant varieties).” In updating the List, this final rule provides consumers with information regarding foods that may be BE and aids regulated entities in determining whether they need to make a BE disclosure.[2] | ” |
Summary of provisions
The following is a summary of the provisions for the rule:[1]
A. Addition to the List:
This rule adds "sugarcane (Bt insect-resistant varieties)" to the USDA's List of Bioengineered Foods.
B. Amendment to the List:
This rule changes the "squash (summer)" entry in the USDA's List of Bioengineered Foods to "squash (summer, mosaic virus-resistant varieties)."
Significant impact
- See also: Significant regulatory action
Executive Order 12866, issued by President Bill Clinton (D) in 1993, directed the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to determine which agency rules qualify as significant rules and thus are subject to OMB review.
Significant rules have had or might have a large impact on the economy, environment, public health, or state or local governments. These actions may also conflict with other rules or presidential priorities. Executive Order 12866 further defined an economically significant rule as a significant rule with an associated economic impact of $100 million or more. Executive Order 14094, issued by President Joe Biden (D) on April 6, 2023, made changes to Executive Order 12866, including referring to economically significant rules as section 3(f)(1) significant rules and raising the monetary threshold for economic significance to $200 million or more.[1]
The text of the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard; List of Bioengineered Foods rule states that OMB deemed this rule economically significant under E.O. 12866:
“ | This rule has been designated “Significant” under Executive Order 12866 as amended by Executive Order 14094.[2] | ” |
Text of the rule
The full text of the rule is available below:[1]
See also
External links
Footnotes