Genetically engineered crops appear to be safe to eat and do not harm the environment, according to a comprehensive new analysis by the advisory group the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

However, it is somewhat unclear whether the technology has actually increased crop yields.

The report from the influential group, released on Tuesday, comes as the federal government is reviewing how it regulates biotech crops and as big packaged-food companies like Campbell Soup and General Mills are starting to label products as being made with genetically engineered ingredients to comply with a new Vermont law.

The report also says that new techniques, like a way to make small genetic changes in plants using genome-editing, are blurring the distinction between genetic engineering and conventional plant breeding, making the existing regulatory system untenable. It calls for a new system that pays more attention to the attributes of the crop, as opposed to the way in which it was created.

Despite its roughly 400 pages, however, the document is not expected to end the highly polarized dispute over biotech crops, which are often called G.M.O.s, for genetically modified organisms. Both sides on Tuesday pointed approvingly to findings that buttressed their viewpoint and criticized those that did not.