Green group - 1999 survey showed StarLink in US food
Date: 06-Sep-01
Country: USA
Author: Randy Fabi
The Center for Food Safety said Aventis reported to the Environmental Protection Agency in late January 2000 that minuscule amounts of its StarLink corn had found its way into the U.S. food supply and export markets.
Eight months later, Friends of the Earth and other environmental groups announced that traces of StarLink corn had been found in taco shells. The announcement eventually led to a handful of government investigations and the recall of hundreds of food products.
StarLink, made by the Franco-German drug giant Aventis, was approved by the EPA for livestock feed and ethanol, but banned for human food use and for export because of concerns it may trigger allergic reactions.
The StarLink controversy has hurt U.S. corn exports to its biggest customers after food products in Japan and South Korea were found last year with traces of the unapproved corn variety.
SMALL AMOUNT FOUND
Aventis conducted a survey in December 1999 to see whether U.S. farmers were complying with government restrictions for StarLink. The results of the survey was given to the EPA in a report dated Jan. 27, 2000.
In the survey, two of the 230 participating farmers reported their StarLink corn was either exported or sold for use in food. About 12.6 percent said they did not know what happened to their StarLink corn.
Parts of the survey were obtained under a freedom of information request by the privately funded Center for Food Safety, which has been critical of genetically modified foods.
"EPA had notice of a violation and didn't act until nine months later when Friends of the Earth and other environmental groups tested food for StarLink," said Joe Mendelson, the group's legal director.
An Aventis official said the company was "not pleased with how (it) responded" to the grower survey.
The official, who wished not to be identified, said that, once StarLink was found in food products, the company immediately took action to contain the corn and reduce the risk of further contamination.
EPA officials were not immediately available for comment.
EPA MULLS BT CROP REGISTRATIONS
The EPA is expected soon to decide whether to extend the registrations of several corn, cotton and potato plants genetically engineered to contain the pesticide Bacillus thurigiensis (Bt), which protects plants from the European corn borer and corn earworm. The registrations are scheduled to expire at the end of September.
StarLink was a type of Bt corn available to U.S. farmers, but its registration has since been suspended by the EPA.
The Center for Food Safety, which has urged the EPA not to approve any Bt corn registration extensions, questioned whether the EPA could effectively enforce its regulations on genetically modified crops.
"StarLink brings into question the type of program the EPA is running when compliance is left up to the company," Mendelson said. "The question is if the agency will sit back and do nothing again."
