United Kingdom: Agricultural Biotechnology Annual

The Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act received Royal Assent on March 23, 2023, confirming it as an act of Parliament. The Act is the first phase of amending the United Kingdom’s (UK) regulatory framework for genetically engineered (GE) products. Secondary legislation flowing from the Act will be needed to streamline the regulation of plants and animals derived from simple genome editing and other techniques that could have been achieved by traditional breeding methods. The first tranche of GE approvals was passed in May 2022, some nine months after they were approved in the European Union (EU). As of April 26, 2023, eight more GE crops were authorized for use following a public consultation process, as part of the second tranche of approvals under the new UK approval process. However, many GE applications remain pending.