1.Japan to Test U.S. Short- and Medium-Grain Rice for LLRICE601
2.LL601 is probably in Californian rice as well

"Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry's (MAFF) Food Department will start testing all U.S. short- and medium-grain rice imports (whole and broken kernels) and existing rice stocks for the presence of Bayer CropScience LLRICE601, the U.S. Embassy here said today." (item 1)

"Since most of the development work on LL601 appears to have been done in California... it is highly likely that Californian medium-grain rice is now contaminated with LL601 and with various other abandoned GM lines." (item 2)
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1.Japan to Test U.S. Short- and Medium-Grain Rice for LLRICE601

TOKYO - Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry's (MAFF) Food Department will start testing all U.S. short- and medium-grain rice imports (whole and broken kernels) and existing rice stocks for the presence of Bayer CropScience LLRICE601, the U.S. Embassy here said today.

Testing will begin with a shipment of U.S. rice that is scheduled to arrive in Japan Sept. 30, but will not apply to processed products, the embassy said to the USA Rice Federation.

"We are surprised by this development, because Japan is not a long-grain customer for U.S. rice and LLRICE601 has not been found in U.S. medium and short varieties," said Bob Cummings, USA Rice VP, for international polic policy.

Future import samples will be drawn from the product at loading in the United States and air mailed to Japan for testing at MAFF's expense. The first results of testing on U.S. rice held in MAFF warehouses in Japan will reportedly be available by next week with all stocks test results ready by late October.

"We are following the situation closely," Cummings said, "and will be working with USDA and U.S. Trade Representative officials."

Contact: Bob Cummings, (703) , 236- 14 1473 73
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2.LL601 is probably in Californian rice as well
Dr Brian John

From an examination of the Bayer 1998 petition for the deregulation of LL62 and LL06 rice: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/brs/not_reg.html

It is clear that of the many LL rice lines tested by Bayer, LL06 was intended for Californian conditions (medium grain rice) and LL62 for the southern states. There were many field trials in widely dispersed locations in 1997 and 1998 in California. Some of these are listed on pp 42 etc (Tables V1 - V6) of the Petition. Can't find any mention of LL601 as a tested variety, but it was probably one of four (out of 36 lines tested) that underperformed or had some other defect and was then abandoned.

There were also field tests in Puerto Rico and Louisiana -- and by the look of it, Arkansas and Missouri.

Since most of the development work on LL601 appears to have been done in California, presumably from 06 as a parent line, it is highly likely that Californian medium grain rice is now contaminated with LL601 and with various other abandoned GM lines. Nobody knows how extensive this contamination is, because there is no testing.

Furthermore, since no reference materials or genetic characterisations have been provided by Bayer for LL601 and the other redundant varieties, nobody knows what to look for or how to do the tests. Very convenient.

Net result of all this? Californian medium grain rice is probably just as heavily contaminated as long-grain rice from the southern states -- and the Japanese confidence that Californian rice is "clean" is probably misplaced.

Brian

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Petition no: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/brs/aphisdocs/98_32901p.pdf

06-234-01p Bayer CropScience
HT-Phosphinothricin tolerant
Received: 22-AUG-2006
Status: Pending
06-234-01p
98-329-01p
Bayer CropScience
Rice
Glufosinate tolerant
LLRICE601

*** Extension of Petition Number: Under 7CFR 340.6(e) a person may request that APHIS extend a determination of non-regulated status to other organisms based on their similarity of the previously deregulated article. This column lists the