On June 27, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced that it recently reviewed the following plants modified using genetic engineering to determine whether they posed an increased plant pest risk relative to non-modified comparators:

• Plants modified for altered product quality:
  • CoverCress, two pennycresses;
  • Hjelle Advisors, rice; and
  • Toolgen, soybean;
• Plant modified for increased yield:
  • Inari, two soybeans; 
• Plant modified for altered flowering and growth habit:
  • Better Seeds, cowpea.

APHIS states that it found these modified plants were unlikely to pose an increased plant pest risk compared to other cultivated plants. As a result, they are not subject to regulation under 7 C.F.R. Part 340. EPA notes that “[f]rom a plant pest risk perspective, these modified plants may be safely grown and bred in the United States.” These regulatory status review (RSR) requests and APHIS’s responses are available in AHPIS’s RSR Table.