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| GE
Free New Zealand in Food & Environment,
24th March 2005
US Admits Exporting Illegal GE Corn: NZ Authorities Questioned
Authorities approving GE food imports into New Zealand are being
questioned over the import of an illegal form of GE maize that US
authorities say they have been accidentally selling and exporting
for the last four years.
Announcements by US authorities and Syngenta published in Nature
(see below) reveals that Bt11 maize seeds had become confused with
Bt10- a form of GE maize not approved by authorities. By mistake
Bt 10 has been sold in the US and exported overseas.
The US authorities have refused to say which countries may have
imported the illegal seeds as food or for planting, but New Zealand/
Australian authorities have been asked to urgently investigate by
GE Free NZ in food and environment.
Although the Bt10 crop is believed by Syngenta and US authorities
promoting GE food to be 'safe', the fact that it was sold for years
by accident only adds to concerns that biotechnology firms are losing
control over their activities.
"It is worrying that our authorities have given the green light
to over 20 GE foods for import to New Zealand but there is no monitoring
or tracking of where it is ending up," says Jon Carapiet from
GE Free NZ in food and environment.
"We also have no system to effectively recall a GE food like
this. It is a wake-up call that the biotech industry and authorities
are failing to control their products," says Mr Carapiet.
" They are putting public health at risk and a much more serious
failure of the system is on the cards."
The BT 10 and BT11 corn (maize) were modified with a gene from the
soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which is inserted into
the crop to act as a pesticide. Syngenta has US approval to sell
a variety of Bt11 but between 2001 and 2004, Syngenta inadvertently
produced and distributed several hundred tonnes of Bt10 corn - a
different genetic modification that has not been approved. US Authorities
have scrambled to research the safety of the product and now believe
it is "ok" for sale.
" That may sound like a good thing to hear: but the reassurance
is doubtful given their inadequate testing protocols, and it doesn't
address the fundamental issue that the system has failed - potentially
disastrously", says Jon Carapiet.
This incident confirms public and international concern that regulation
of GE crops and food is not working. Australian / New Zealand Authorities
should stop approvals of GE foods into the mainstream food supply.
Unfortunately FSANZ continue to approve more and more imported GE
foods.
They are failing to respond to the inadequacy of their testing systems,
management systems, tracking systems, or emergency-responses systems
that would allow an illegal GE food to be pulled from the food supply.
With such fundamental inadequacies we have a disaster in the making.
ENDS
Jon Carapiet 0210 507 681
http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050321/full/nature03570.html
Published online: 22 March 2005; | doi:10.1038/nature03570
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