The Main Department of the State Service for Food and Consumer Protection in the Kharkiv region informs that from September 16, 2026, the new Law of Ukraine No. 3339 of August 23, 2023 "On State Regulation of Genetic Engineering Activities and State Control over the Placement on the Market of Genetically Modified Organisms and Products" will come into force.
This law establishes a new, more comprehensive system of legal regulation of GMOs and products containing them, and defines modern approaches to the control, accounting, and monitoring of such organisms and products on the market.
The law regulates relations in the field of genetic engineering activities in closed systems (laboratories, production facilities) and open systems (cultivation, release into the environment), as well as registration, placing on the market, and control over the circulation of genetically modified products and GM products on the Ukrainian market.
The new rules will apply to various business entities: producers, importers, distributors of genetically modified products, as well as the agricultural sector that grows crops, feed using GMOs, and other industries and enterprises that use GMOs as an ingredient or component.
It is planned to create three registers, namely the State Register of Subjects of Genetic Engineering Activities, permits for conducting research and testing of GMOs in an open system, and GMOs themselves.
Main innovations:
- harmonization with European standards. The norm on state registration, control and monitoring of GMOs is harmonized with the practices of the European Union. For example, the principles of maintaining registers and risk assessment are regulated, similar to the norms in the EU;
- state registration of GMOs according to a new procedure. Mandatory state registration of GMOs and products from them is introduced. Simultaneously with the entry into force of the Law, the State Register of Genetically Modified Organisms will officially begin operating, which is being created for the purpose of state registration and re-registration of genetically modified organisms. It will become a tool for collecting, processing, accounting and publishing data on GMOs that have passed official state approval procedures. This creates a transparent mechanism for interaction between business and the state;
- import and research. The import of GMOs and products derived from them is prohibited prior to state registration, except for scientific research purposes and testing;
- phased implementation. For crops such as corn, rapeseed and sunflower, different stages and levels of risk assessment are established before they are allowed to be grown (for example, corn has a ban, and for sunflower and rapeseed there is a transition period until 2031);
- Improving labeling requirements for GM products and controlling their circulation. The law provides specific requirements for labeling GMO products and rules for their placement on the market, which contributes to increased transparency for consumers. Producers are required to label products if the GMO content exceeds 0.91% by weight;
- monitoring and safe handling procedures. This includes procedures for controlling the transportation, storage, disposal and movement of such organisms and products;
- delimitation of powers of state authorities in order to eliminate duplication of functions in the field of GMO management;
- Strengthening state control. The new legislation provides for a more systematic role of state bodies in supervising the handling of GMOs: from registration to post-marketing monitoring;
- transition to stricter control over GMOs, implementing European approaches and establishing clear rules with appropriate responsibility, which should ensure food safety and protect consumer rights.