Germany Says Found Illegal GMO Rice from US, China
Date: 05-Oct-06
Country: GERMANY
The German tests, carried out by ministry for environment and consumer protection in the state of Hesse in central Germany, revealed that 11 samples from eight different food products carried trace amounts of LL Rice 601 from the United States.
Five samples from three different products showed the unauthorised Chinese Rice BT 63.
No GMO rice is allowed to be grown, sold or marketed in the European Union's 25 countries, where consumers have a reputation for mistrust of GMO foods. GMO food manufacturers, however, insist that their products are safe.
In August, the EU tightened requirements on US imports to prove the absence of LL Rice 601, developed by Germany's Bayer AG.
The EU decision followed the discovery by US authorities of trace amounts of GMO rice in long-grain samples targeted for commercial use.
Despite some lobbying in favour of GMO, EU member states have for many years been unable to secure the majority needed to overturn the present ban on GMO foods and crops.