1.Japan Bt10 update - 30th August 2005
2.Japan not likely to relax Bt-1O corn control before next year

Thanks to Akiko Frid for translating the very useful information she's received from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF)about imports from the US contaminated with Syngenta's rogue maize - Bt10 (item 1).

Although Japan is under pressure to drop its zero tolerance policy on Bt10, this does not look likely to happen any time soon (item 2).

According to a recent article:

"Japanese importers face the risk of sustaining huge losses from purchases of tainted U.S. corn cargoes.

To avoid the risk of receiving tainted corn cargoes, some Japanese importers have bought Argentine and South African corn as alternatives to U.S. supply, traders said. One importer bought about 100,000 tonnes of South African corn for shipment in the third quarter of this year, while another company bought over 30,000 tonnes of Argentine corn for August-September shipments, they said." (item 2)
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1.Japan Bt10 update - 30th August 2005

MAFF's reply to questions concerning unapproved GMO Bt10:

From: Satoshi Motomura at Veterinary Drug and Feed safety Office, Animal Health and Animal Products Safety Division, Food Safety and Consumer Affairs Bureau at MAFF
To: Akiko Frid
Sent: Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Subject: Re: GM corn Bt10

Thank you very much for your inquiry concerning Bt10. The MAFF's answers to your questions follows

1. Regarding the cargos tainted with Bt10

Until today, Japan has detected 10 feed grain cargos from the U.S. tainted with unapproved Bt10 corn. Totally 32,610 ton. Detail is published on the

Incorporated Administrative Agency - Fertilizer and Feed Inspection Services (PDF) : http://www.ffis.go.jp/sub8/bt10.pdf.

Although the relevant traders are planning to ship all the cargos back to the U.S., all of the discovered Bt10 cargos are still kept under lock and key in grain silos in each ports until this moment.

2. Regarding the safety assessment on Bt10 under the Food Safety Commission

Concerning the safety assessment related to the Bt10 as feed use have been submitted to the Agricultural Material Council regarding to animal health, and to the Food Safety Commission regarding to human health by consuming animal products that are fed by Bt10. However, the discussions have carried over to the next session, therefore so far nothing been concluded.

3. Regarding the tolerate level of unapproved GMO contamination

In accordance with the Feed Safety Law, the use of unapproved GMOs for feed is forbidden in Japan. However, Japan tolerates up to 1% of unapproved GMOs contamination, under the condition of the GMOs in question have been approved in other countries, where the safety evaluation level is equivalent to the Japanese government's or higher. Regarding the Bt10, there is no other countries, where Bt10 is approved, therefore Japan is not allowed Bt10 come into the Japanese market.

Moreover, the MAFF has submitted a question to the Agricultural Material Council as well as to the Food Safety Commission to take risk management

measure to tolerate up to 1% Bt10 contamination from the aspect of risk management. This discussion is also carried over to the next session, therefore nothing been concluded.

ENDS

Veterinary Drug and Feed Safety Office, Animal Health and Animal Products Safety Division, Food Safety and Consumer Affairs Bureau at MAFF

Satoshi Motomura (Mr)
Tel: +81-3-3502-8111 (ext: 3171)
Fax: +81-3-3502-8275
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2.Japan not likely to relax Bt-1O corn control before next year
Aya Takada
Reuters

Tokyo - Japan is likely to implement next year its plan to allow up to one percent of illegal Bt-10 corn in U.S. feed cargoes, despite requests from Japanese importers that the new rule should take effect soon, government officials said.

The plan, proposed by the Agriculture Ministry in June, is aimed at restoring a smooth supply of corn - the most heavily consumed grain in Japan - from top supplier United States.

But the new import rule is subject to approval by Japan's Food Safety Commission (FSC), an independent agency.

The FSC subcommittee that has been discussing the plan may approve it at their next meeting in September, an FSC official said. The commission then will seek public opinions on the plan for four weeks before giving formal approval to the ministry.

After obtaining FSC approval, the ministry will start procedures to revise its feed safety regulations that could take a few months to complete, a ministry official said. "If things go smoothly, we will put the one-percent rule into effect early next year," he said.

Japan has a zero-tolerance policy on imports of unapproved genetically modified (GMO) crops, and importers of crops tainted with illegal GMO must destroy the cargoes or ship them back to exporting countries.

Since Bt-10, a GMO corn strain made by Swiss agrochemicals group Syngenta AG is not approved for distribution, Japan has rejected imports of a total of 10 U.S. feed corn cargoes contaminated with the strain.

The government started testing U.S. corn shipments upon arrival for traces of Bt-10 in May, following the announcement by Syngenta in March that some of its corn seeds in the United States had been contaminated with Bt-10 from 2001 to 2004. The frequent discoveries of tainted U.S. cargoes have been disrupting corn distribution to Japan's livestock industry, which needs a massive 12 million tonnes of the grain annually for feed.

To ensure stable supplies from the United States, from which Japan sources over 90 percent of its corn requirements, the ministry has decided to accept U.S. feed corn cargoes tainted with a low level of Bt-10.

Corn importers

Corn importers, who asked the government to relax control over Bt-10 immediately, are disappointed at the slow pace.

"It's too late," one Japanese trader said, adding that the chances of finding Bt-10 in U.S. shipments would fall when new crop U.S. corn starts reaching Japan in November.

Newly harvested U.S. corn was unlikely to be tainted with Bt-10, as Syngenta has recalled contaminated corn seeds from U.S. farmers, said an official of the company's Tokyo office.

Japanese importers face the risk of sustaining huge losses from purchases of tainted U.S. corn cargoes.

To avoid the risk of receiving tainted corn cargoes, some Japanese importers have bought Argentine and South African corn as alternatives to U.S. supply, traders said. One importer bought about 100,000 tonnes of South African corn for shipment in the third quarter of this year, while another company bought over 30,000 tonnes of Argentine corn for August-September shipments, they said.

Other corn importers have not shifted from the United States to other supply sources. But to lower the risk of getting contaminated U.S. cargoes, most companies pay premiums to U.S. shippers for corn certified as free of Bt-10.

The Agriculture Ministry estimates about 70 percent of U.S. feed corn cargoes bound for Japan are currently certified as free of Bt-10.