News and Analysis • Volume 10 • Number 6 • September 2006
GMO Rice Raises Questions
The discovery of contamination of US long-grained commercial rice supplies by a genetically-engineered variety not approved for human consumption has raised concerns about the strength of US regulation of biotechnology. In a report released last December, the US Department of Agriculture Inspector General stated that USDA lacked “basic information about the field test sites it approves and is responsible for monitoring, including where and how the crops are being grown and what becomes of them at the end of the field test.”
Japan has banned long-grained rice imports from the US, and started testing short- and medium-grained rice shipments due to a lack of proof from Washington that such varieties are free from contamination. The EU is also stepping up testing requirements – in place since August – for long-grained rice following the discovery of contamination in two barge loads that had been certified GMfree. The largest Swiss supermarket chain took US long-grained rice off the shelves in September after its own tests revealed traces of contamination in storage silos. Traces of the unauthorised GM rice have also been found in Germany.
The modified rice, developed by Bayer CropScience, contains a protein that makes it resistant to weed killer. The company now faces three lawsuits filed by US rice farmers, two of which are seeking class action status. According to US regulatory authorities, the variety poses no risks to human health.