WASHINGTON — The U.S. Agriculture Department is moving to make it easier to grow genetically engineered corn for ethanol production, despite fears among safety advocates that some might end up in human food.

The agency is seeking public comments on a request to deregulate corn that is designed to produce a special enzyme, making it easier to convert into ethanol.

In its draft environmental assessment released in early November, the department’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service concluded that the corn, developed by Syngenta Seeds Inc., is safe.

“The scientific evidence indicates that there are unlikely to be any environmental, human health or food safety concerns associated with the GE corn,” the agency says in a written statement.

Bill Freese, science policy analyst at the Center for Food Safety, says the alpha-amylase gene inserted into the corn could trigger allergies in people exposed to the crop.

“They intend it to be used just for ethanol, but it’s also going to end up in the food supply,” Freese says. “This is the first crop proposed for industrial use, and in a widely used food crop, we need to be extremely cautious.”

Under review

The department will review any comments submitted by the Jan. 20 deadline to determine whether its safety assessment should change.

Deregulation of the genetically engineered corn would allow it to be grown anywhere without permits or other regulatory oversight from the Agriculture Department.

Demand for biofuels like ethanol is soaring because of federal mandates requiring the United States to use 9 billion gallons of alternative fuel annually by 2009.