False GM-free certification for US rice

Greenpeace: EU should stop all rice imports from US

Press release - September 21, 2006
Brussels, Belgium — Commenting on today’s revelation of contaminated unauthorised GM rice in a shipment from the US to Europe that had been declared GM-free, Greenpeace calls on the European Commission not only to ask all EU member states to block long-grain rice imports from the US with or without GM-free certification, but also to let the US authorities know that no more imports of US rice will be allowed into Europe until the US authorities have established a trustworthy certification scheme and ensured that the contamination in the US has been contained.

The integrity and credibility of the entire EU food safety system is at stake and should be defended against a possible strategy of contamination by the biotechnology industry.

If the US authorities are not able to ensure that US rice exports are free of contamination with unauthorised - and therefore illegal - GMOs, they should themselves block the exports also for the sake of their own credibility. This is what the EU did with UK-produced beef during the BSE crisis. This is what credible authorities do.

Other contacts:

Jorgo Riss, director, Greenpeace European Unit, tel +32 (0)2 274 1907
Katharine Mill, media officer, Greenpeace European Unit, tel +32 (0)2 274 1903

Notes:

The unauthorised GM rice in question is LL601, a variety developed by Bayer and tested in open field trials in the US. The company decided subsequently not to proceed with development and never obtained authorisation for this rice in the US. No GM rice has been authorised in the EU.

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