Washington, DC
July 25, 2007
The
Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today launched a
new program, Excellence Through Stewardship: Advancing Best
Practices in Agricultural Biotechnology, the first
industry-coordinated effort to address product stewardship and
quality management.
Excellence Through Stewardship continues BIO s commitment to
enhancing regulatory compliance, and product quality for
consumers. The program provides a strong quality management
system for the full life cycle of biotech plants into the
future. It is intended to promote the responsible management of
agricultural biotechnology, the continued adoption of plant
biotechnology globally, and the enhanced value of
biotech-derived plant products in the marketplace.
The agricultural biotechnology industry has a long history of
promoting stewardship, said Jim Greenwood, president and chief
executive officer (CEO) of BIO. The Excellence Through
Stewardship program continues BIO s efforts to provide
consistently high quality standards across the agricultural
biotechnology industry in addressing product stewardship and
quality management issues. Today s announcement reflects BIO s
commitment to promote safety and trust in the world s food
supply and to support smooth trade transactions in the
agricultural community.
Excellence Through Stewardship was developed by BIO s Food and
Agriculture Section to address product stewardship and quality
management for the full plant life cycle. The program s three
main components include:
- Adoption of quality
management Principles and Management Practices for
maintaining plant product integrity that outline the basic
tenets of the Excellence Through Stewardship program.
- Publication of a Quality
Management Program Guide for BIO member companies and others
involved in agricultural biotechnology research and
development to use in understanding and implementing their
own best practices.
- Adoption of an
independent, third-party Stewardship Audit Program designed
to verify implementation of stewardship programs and confirm
quality management systems and compliance with principles
and management practices.
Participation in the stewardship
program in encouraged for all companies and institutions
involved in research, development and/or commercial activities
for plant products including, but not limited to, commodity
crops, specialty crops, energy crops, perennials, ornamentals,
plant-made pharmaceuticals (PMPs) and plant-made industrials
(PMIPs). Member companies of BIO s Food and Agriculture Section
are encouraged to self-certify adoption of stewardship
principles and then undergo third-party audits of quality
management practices.
Although many companies already have quality management programs
in place, the Excellence Through Stewardship program is the
first industry-coordinated undertaking to meet today s product
stewardship challenges, said Andrew Baum, president and CEO of
SemBioSys, and Chairman of BIO s Food and Agriculture Section
Governing Body.
The Excellence Through Stewardship program is a global
initiative that will be introduced in a three-phased approach.
The biotech industry anticipates that the program will be
rolled-out in the United States over the next 18 months, and
will subsequently be extended globally within three years.
BIO represents more than 1,100 biotechnology companies,
academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related
organizations across the United States and 31 other nations. BIO
members are involved in the research and development of
healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental
biotechnology products. BIO also produces the annual BIO
International Convention, the world s largest gathering of the
biotechnology industry. Visit BIO at
www.bio.org. |
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