USDA seeks advice on its role in bio-grain segregation
Date: 30-Oct-00
Country: USA
"It's going to be a wide open notice on what role, if any, the USDA should play in marketing these commodities," a USDA spokeswoman said.
The document, known as an advance notice of proposed rulemaking, will be published in the Federal Register sometime in November, she said.
The action has been planned for several months by the USDA, well before the discovery last month that some StarLink corn was accidentally commingled with other yellow corn supplies.
StarLink, made by the European drug giant Aventis SA, has not been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency for use in human foods. While EPA officials have said there is only a "remote" chance that StarLink could cause allergic reactions if consumed, agency procedures require scientific evidence that there is no likelihood of harm before it can be approved.
The contamination of US corn supplies with small amounts of StarLink has forced a series of recalls of taco shells, tortilla chips and other foods made with yellow corn flour. Several foodmakers have had to halt production lines temporarily and virtually every food company has been forced to test its products for contamination.
The chaos also raises issues of legal liability for Aventis and other US companies.
Of the estimated 80 million bushels of StarLink grown by American farmers this year, about 1.2 million bushels have yet to be accounted for, according to the USDA.
The USDA is also following through on a plan announced in May to create a biotech laboratory in Kansas City. The lab will not do routine testing of genetically-modified crops, but it will evaluate commercial test kits and procedures to ensure they are reliable.
A USDA spokesman in Kansas City said the opening of the lab, which had been expected during the autumn harvest, had been delayed until November due to staffing and construction issues.