A new South African Bio-economy Strategy has been approved, replacing the existing National Biotechnology Strategy of 2001. The new strategy has great expectations for the future by focusing on a range of initiatives related to bio-products. It has the potential to address the constraints in the registration of products from genetic modification (GMO), indigenous phyto pesticides and medicinal plants. This paper outlines the South African Bio-economy Strategy and the challenges of product registrations, sufficient policies, inadequate coordination, and communication with relevant stakeholders. A requirement for registration of products is toxicological assessment for food and feed safety. A panel of experts for the safety and risk assessment of foods from GMOs includes toxicologists for case-by-case assessment of GMO products. However, one of the most serious constraints is availability of experienced South African toxicologists. The history of regulatory toxicological assessments and current initiatives for toxicological governance will be discussed and proposals made.

South African bio-economy strategy: The toxicologists' dilemma

248th National Meeting (2014)

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