Sri Lanka’s Updated Import Rules for GE Foods Could Benefit US Exports, USDA Says

Sri Lanka recently relaxed import restrictions on certain genetically engineered food, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report last week. The country will require traders to secure import approvals for all GE foods or materials that contain more than 0.9% genetically modified organisms, the report said. Sri Lanka had previously required import approvals for foods containing more than 0.5% genetically modified organisms. The change is expected to help “facilitate exports of U.S.-origin non-GE soybean and non-GE corn (maize) or any other agricultural or food product, as they can now be imported without prior approval,” the report said.