1.Environment Group Urges EU Ban US Rice On GMO Scare - Dow Jones
2.CALL FOR BAN ON IMPORTS OF US RICE TO UK - FoE UK
3."European Commission will ensure unauthorised GM products do not reach the EU citizen" - European Commission
4.Japan has banned imports of US rice + local restrictions on GMOs - Kurashi News
5.Japanese prefectures restrict GMOs - ASAHI SHIMBUN
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1.Environment Group Urges EU Ban US Rice On GMO Scare
DOW JONES, 21 August 2006 http://www.easybourse.com/Website/dynamic/News.php?NewsID=44268&lang=fra&NewsRubrique=2
BRUSSELS -(Dow Jones)- A European environment group has called on the European Union to stop all imports of U.S.-farmed long-grain rice following news that an unknown volume has been contaminated with a strain of genetically modified rice owned by German biotech giant Bayer CropScience (506285.BY) and not approved for human consumption.
An import ban would deprive U.S. rice exporters of their second largest customer. The E.U. buys about 300,000 metric tons of rice, worth about EUR70 million, from the U.S. each year. Japan, the U.S. biggest rice customer, shut off all U.S. long-grain rice imports last Saturday.
Officials at the European Commission in Brussels, which is in charge of deciding import bans, said officials were discussing the matter.
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2.CALL FOR BAN ON IMPORTS OF US RICE AFTER CONTAMINATION REVEALED
Excerpts from Friends of the Earth (UK) Press Release
Immediate release: Monday 21 August 2006
Friends of the Earth today (Monday) urged the UK Government to take action to restrict UK imports of American rice after it was revealed that supplies had been contaminated with an illegal genetically modified strain. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that GM rice unapproved for human consumption has entered the US food chain [1].
The extent of the contamination is not known, but the UK imported some 82,625 tonnes of rice from the United States in 2004 [2]. Friends of the Earth is calling on food safety authorities to take immediate action to protect the health of UK and European consumers.
Friends of the Earth have called for an immediate investigation by authorities in the US and Europe into the full extent of the contamination. The environmental campaign group is also demanding that:
*Bayer immediately releases all the necessary information on the safety testing and detection methods for LLRICE601 into the public domain *The European Commission and UK Foods Standards Agency bans US rice imports (following the example of Japan [3]) and issues product recalls for all foods containing rice from the US.
This latest case of GM contamination echoes the Bt10 scandal, revealed in March last year, where biotech company Syngenta sold the wrong GM seed to US farmers for four years. Maize exports to Europe were contaminated with the illegal maize, and the European Commission put in place emergency measures to prevent maize contaminated with Bt10 being imported into the EU. These measures are still in place [4].
In the UK, the Government is consulting on how GM and non-GM crops can 'coexist' in England [5]. It is vital that the Government takes into account evidence of how the US has failed to control GM contamination in determining the rules needed to allow GM crops to be grown in the UK.
Notes
[1] The announcement was made late on Friday 18 August in the US. http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome?contentidonly=true&contentid=2006/08/0307.xml
[2] Source: HM Customs & Excise, data prepared by Trade Statistics, Food Chain Analysis 3, DEFRA. The UK imported 82,625 tonnes of rice from the USA in 2004 [3] http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/business/4128520.html
[4] http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/press_releases/europe_restricts_us_maize_15042005.html
[5] See http://www.stopgmcontamination.org
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3.Trace amounts of non-authorised GM rice on US market
News from the Communication Directorate General's midday briefing
Midday Express, 21 / 08 / 06
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEX/06/2108&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
The European Commission was informed late on Friday, 18 August 2006, by US Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns about the detection of trace amounts of non-authorised genetically modified rice in samples taken on the US market from commercial long grain rice. According to the US authorities and based on the information available to them [supplied by the company!! - ed], the presence of these traces do not pose safety concerns, neither in food and feed, nor in the environment.
The European Commission will write today to the US authorities to request urgently more and specific information, in particular in relation to the risk assessment and to the detection method. In addition, the Commission will meet company representatives today to get additional information. Based on this information, a decision on further actions, if necessary, will be taken.
As in the past, the European Commission will ensure that unauthorised GM products do not reach the EU citizen.
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4.GM rice in the news
Kurashi News from Japan, August 21 2006 http://martinjapan.blogspot.com/2006/08/gm-rice-in-news.html
Japan has banned imports of US rice following news about a positive test for trace amounts of a genetically modified strain not approved for human consumption.
Japan's government has requested the US to enact strict controls, according to several newspapers. The Health Ministry does not include any strain of rice on its list of genetically modified foods approved for sale in Japan.
Also, ten of the nation's 47 prefectures have their own regulations on the open-air cultivation of genetically modified plants, an Asahi Shimbun survey has found: The local ordinances or guidelines are meant to prevent cross-pollination and hybridization of GM plants with related crops in the region.
"Once cross-breeding or mixups take place, it will be too late," said an agriculture section official of Niigata Prefecture.
Japan began to import GM crops in the 1990s, but no commercial production has started here because of consumer concerns over safety.
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5..Regulating GM crops a local matter
BY KENICHI IWASAKI
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200608210088.html
Ten of the nation's 47 prefectures have their own regulations on the open-air cultivation of genetically modified plants, an Asahi Shimbun survey has found.
The local ordinances or guidelines are meant to prevent cross-pollination and hybridization of GM plants with related crops in the region.
"Once cross-breeding or mixups take place, it will be too late," said an agriculture section official of Niigata Prefecture.
Japan began to import GM crops in the 1990s, but no commercial production has started here because of consumer concerns over safety.
Niigata, known for its Koshihikari rice, put a stringent ordinance into effect in May. It obliges farmers to get permission to grow GM crops, while research institutes must file reports on open-air experiments.
Violators face up to a year in prison or fines of up to 500,000 yen.
GM crops are the focus of persistent concerns over safety and possible effects on the environment. Niigata and other prefectures want to avoid having the reputations of their produce hurt by the GM taint.
In Tokushima Prefecture, which implemented an ordinance in April, officials say it is part of its "farm brand strategy" to compete with other production centers.
"The image that no GM crops are produced in the prefecture is important," said one official.
Chiba and Kyoto prefectures also introduced similar ordinances in April, while Hokkaido implemented one in January.
The Hokkaido rules set minimum distances between GM crop fields and others. The distance is at least 300 meters for rice, 1.2 kilometers for corn and 2 km for sugar beets.
The distances are about twice as long as those set by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries for its research entities.
The other five of the 10 prefectures have set up GM crop guidelines.
Ibaraki, Shiga and Iwate established them in 2004, followed by Hyogo in April this year and Tokyo in May.
Similar moves are spreading to municipalities.
Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, will put new guidelines in effect in September. An ordinance will be proposed to the Imabari city assembly in Ehime Prefecture in the same month.
Many of these local entities are setting rules to prevent conflict between producers and anti-GM farmers and consumers.
In Hokkaido, Niigata Prefecture and Tsukuba, local farmers, co-ops and consumers have put up strong resistance to GM crop production tests at research institutes.
In Japan, GM crop production is regulated under the so-called Cartagena Law, which went into force in February 2004 to maintain biological diversity and safety.
Open-air production is allowed for 91 crop varieties, including rice, corn and soybeans. Farmers are allowed to cultivate varieties among the 91 that have further cleared safety screening under the food sanitation and other laws, but there has been no known case yet.
"While laws ensure the safety of GM crops, it is up to each local entity to decide not to produce them," said an official of the farm ministry's plant products safety division.
While some researchers are concerned local regulations may hinder their work, there are also calls among local officials for the central government to make unified rules.(IHT/Asahi: August 21,2006)