US Grain group urges firms to create GM-crop tests
Date: 07-Oct-99
Country: USA
The NGFA, which represents about 1,000 grain, feed and merchandising
firms in the United States, said changing consumer attitudes and
regulatory rules were making the ability to identify GM-crops crucial.
"The responsibility to provide the marketplace with the tools to make
such determinations most appropriately lies with biotechnology and seed
companies that are introducing seed varieties with new characteristics,"
NGFA said in a position paper on biotech grains and oilseeds.
The NGFA statement comes as the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee began
two days of hearings on biotechnology in agriculture and its impact on
farmers and agribusiness.
The association said development of new testing technology should
involve a strategy to develop tests that are accurate, repeatable, low
cost and applicable to future releases of biotechnology-enhanced grains
and oilseeds.
"Having a single test capable of detecting the full range of
biotechnology-enhanced events is highly preferable to minimise
market-flow impediments and associated (market) risks," the NGFA said.
If testing technology to distinguish between conventional and
biotechnology-enhanced products with a single test cannot be developed
and released within a reasonable time, the NGFA said the industry should
consider other strategies.
"One option, although potentially creating other policy and regulatory
issues, is to insert 'marker genes' in biotechnology-enhanced
commodities to permit fast, reliable single tests to be developed that
can detect such marker genes," the NGFA said.
The NGFA said it continued to oppose government mandated labeling of GM
crops, although it did not oppose voluntary labeling. It said
information on non-proprietary research on food-and feed-safety related
aspects of GM-grains and oilseeds should be disseminated publicly.
