Calgene Inc. of Davis, Calif., said Monday that the FDA hasnotified the company that its amended Food Additive Petition,No. 3A4364, has been formally accepted for filing as of June 21.

The petition covers the use of the kanamycin selectable markergene as a processing aid in the development of geneticallyengineered plant varieties of tomato, oilseed rape and cotton.The acceptance follows the June 4 submission by Calgene(NASDAQ:CGNE) of the updated environmental assessmentrequested by the FDA.

"This action by the FDA indicates to us that their review isnearing completion," said Roger Salquist, Calgene's chairmanand chief executive.

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