Biosafety constitutes all studies and procedures designed to prevent or control hazards caused by the use of chemical, physical and biological agents to biodiversity. The specific study of the impacts of biotechnology on human and animal health and the environment is governed in various countries by laws, procedures or specific policies. In Brazil, the National Technical Commission on Biosafety (CTNBio) is a collegiate multidisciplinary authority created by Law no. 11.105 of 24 March 2005, which aims to provide support and technical consultancy and advisory services to the Brazilian federal government on (i) the formulation, updating and implementation of the national policy on biosafety of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and (ii) the establishment of technical safety standards and the provision of technical advice regarding the protection of human health, living organisms and the environment, in relation to activities involving all aspects of GMOs and their products (development, experimentation, cultivation, manipulation, transport, marketing, consumption, storage, release, disposal). Biosafety legislation in Brazil comprises only the technology of genetic engineering, and that of recombinant DNA
technology, and the establishment of requirements for the handling of GMOs.
