New Delhi: The latest US-India framework may finally pave the way for the entry of much-debated Distiller's Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS) into the Indian market. But this high protein byproduct of grain-based ethanol production is a political hot potato with considerable history. It was waiting at the door for years due to the tricky issue of genetically modified products.
In fact, allowing US DDGS has been a key topic in almost all US-India trade talks since the days of Trump 1.0. It was raised several times at cross-ministerial discussions, has repeatedly surfaced at India's apex GM-related regulatory council, Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), and has been studied in detail by at least two subcommittees within the last decade. The reports and recommendations of the subcommittees are yet to be made public, but they are now being examined by GEAC panel for 'updates'.
On January 13, 2017, GEAC acknowledged receiving several applications from India, seeking permission to import US DDGS. It even set up a subcommittee to prepare draft rules, with a prescribed application form under the chairmanship of Prof K Veluthambi, the then GEAC cochair. In its 134th meeting on March 21, 2018, GEAC accepted the draft guidelines and asked applicants to align their applications with it. However, on July 25, 2018, GEAC received an application seeking permission to import horse feed containing GM soybean, which brought the contentious GM issue upfront.
The members felt it would not be appropriate to have different forms for different animal feed. It was agreed to have a uniform proforma and procedure, as per the minutes of GEAC's 2018 meeting.
A subcommittee under Lalitha Gowda, former chief scientist, CFTRI and member, GEAC, was then set up. In the 138th GEAC meeting on November 11, 2019, the panel shared two key draft documents - one, detailing procedures for handling applications on import of animal feed containing or derived from genetically modified organisms/ living modified organisms, and two, application forms for production, processes, uses and safety of DDGS.
The drafts, however, remained as they were until the US-India trade deal resurfaced in 2025 when DDGS imports were red flagged by the US Trade Representative report as a case of 'sanitary and phytosanitary barriers' and regulatory uncertainty in India.
Over five years after the reports were submitted, GEAC acknowledged that the two drafts are "pending or expected for consideration by GEAC in coming days".
"Since DDGS is derived from GM crops and yeast, a safety assessment is needed to ensure it does not pose risks to animal health, human food safety through the consumption of animal products, or the environment, and to confirm its nutritional equivalence to conventional DDGS. So, regulating the DDGS derived from GM crops and yeast gains priority during import and marketing in India," it has held.
The committee has stated that it recognised the need for 'updating' these documents in the light of subsequent 'scientific advances and extant regulatory framework'.
Interestingly, the same GEAC on July 14, 2025, noted that DDGS is widely used to enhance "animal health, performance and food product quality which create strong demand in the feed industry" and that to "improve yield and DDGS quality", producers are using GM crops and yeast.
The high maize dependency for animal feed has forced Indian industry to seek imported DDGS and Alfalfa hay - seen as cost effective high-protein alternatives. While GEAC cleared the way for import of Alfalfa hay from the US in July 2024 following a report from the scientific panel of FSSAI that termed it safe as a livestock safe feed, the matter is awaiting a final nod from the agriculture ministry due to its GM origins.
So far, GM food crops remain an area of concern. In 2024, the SC held back GEAC's GM mustard clearance and sought a national GM policy, which is still awaited.
In fact, allowing US DDGS has been a key topic in almost all US-India trade talks since the days of Trump 1.0. It was raised several times at cross-ministerial discussions, has repeatedly surfaced at India's apex GM-related regulatory council, Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), and has been studied in detail by at least two subcommittees within the last decade. The reports and recommendations of the subcommittees are yet to be made public, but they are now being examined by GEAC panel for 'updates'.
On January 13, 2017, GEAC acknowledged receiving several applications from India, seeking permission to import US DDGS. It even set up a subcommittee to prepare draft rules, with a prescribed application form under the chairmanship of Prof K Veluthambi, the then GEAC cochair. In its 134th meeting on March 21, 2018, GEAC accepted the draft guidelines and asked applicants to align their applications with it. However, on July 25, 2018, GEAC received an application seeking permission to import horse feed containing GM soybean, which brought the contentious GM issue upfront.
The members felt it would not be appropriate to have different forms for different animal feed. It was agreed to have a uniform proforma and procedure, as per the minutes of GEAC's 2018 meeting.
A subcommittee under Lalitha Gowda, former chief scientist, CFTRI and member, GEAC, was then set up. In the 138th GEAC meeting on November 11, 2019, the panel shared two key draft documents - one, detailing procedures for handling applications on import of animal feed containing or derived from genetically modified organisms/ living modified organisms, and two, application forms for production, processes, uses and safety of DDGS.
The drafts, however, remained as they were until the US-India trade deal resurfaced in 2025 when DDGS imports were red flagged by the US Trade Representative report as a case of 'sanitary and phytosanitary barriers' and regulatory uncertainty in India.
Over five years after the reports were submitted, GEAC acknowledged that the two drafts are "pending or expected for consideration by GEAC in coming days".
"Since DDGS is derived from GM crops and yeast, a safety assessment is needed to ensure it does not pose risks to animal health, human food safety through the consumption of animal products, or the environment, and to confirm its nutritional equivalence to conventional DDGS. So, regulating the DDGS derived from GM crops and yeast gains priority during import and marketing in India," it has held.
The committee has stated that it recognised the need for 'updating' these documents in the light of subsequent 'scientific advances and extant regulatory framework'.
Interestingly, the same GEAC on July 14, 2025, noted that DDGS is widely used to enhance "animal health, performance and food product quality which create strong demand in the feed industry" and that to "improve yield and DDGS quality", producers are using GM crops and yeast.
The high maize dependency for animal feed has forced Indian industry to seek imported DDGS and Alfalfa hay - seen as cost effective high-protein alternatives. While GEAC cleared the way for import of Alfalfa hay from the US in July 2024 following a report from the scientific panel of FSSAI that termed it safe as a livestock safe feed, the matter is awaiting a final nod from the agriculture ministry due to its GM origins.
So far, GM food crops remain an area of concern. In 2024, the SC held back GEAC's GM mustard clearance and sought a national GM policy, which is still awaited.