Syngenta sold wrong GE maize -- for four years

Syngenta distributed an unauthorised insect resistant maize Bt10, instead of the GE maize Bt11, which is approved in a number of countries around the world. The discovery happened late in 2004, but instead of informing farmers and consumers straight away, Syngenta entered into secret talks with the US government over how they should tell the public.

According to article in Nature, US regulators only considered whether the Bt10 maize was safe for human consumption in late 2004, after the contamination was reported to the US government. This means that for four years, consumers eating products containing GE corn may well have eaten some Bt10 - completely untested for environmental or food safety. Even now, it's not clear what food safety testing, if any, was actually done on Bt10.

"This is the latest in a long series of contamination events and demonstrates once again that GE crops can't be controlled, even by the companies that develop them" said Doreen Stabinsky, GE campaigner. "The long time that this contamination took to be discovered shows the lack of adequate checks made by the industry and the complete absence of adequate controls by the US government. Even more worrying is the secrecy and delay in making this known to the public, who are the unwitting consumers of GE products with no safety testing."

This unauthorized strain of GE maize could have been grown in several other countries, such as Argentina, South Africa and Uruguay, where Bt11 is approved for cultivation. Syngenta has until now refused to reveal what other countries may have received contaminated seed. Equally unknown are the countries that unwittingly received exports of the unapproved maize from the United States, the volume of contaminated maize that might have been exported, and the extent of contamination in manufactured food products.

The illegal GE corn could be in many products worldwide, and hence all products that may contain Bt10 maize should be taken from shop shelves and all fields growing GE maize that may be contaminated with Bt10 should be destroyed, with compensation provided to farmers.

Stabinsky stated "The US government's role in this GE contamination cannot be overlooked. Whilst trying to force countries worldwide to accept GMOs they continue to preside over case after case of illegal and dangerous GE contamination. When this is the model of GMO regulation that the US is trying to force upon other countries - by its WTO case against the EU and by its constant interference in the Biosafety Protocol negotiations - then the US Government should not be surprised when the reaction of the rest of the world is to tell them to get their own house in order, and to stop spreading genetic contamination all over the planet."

Update:

15 April:  EU bans types of contaminated US maize feed containing unauthorised GE genes. More from our EU unit website.

18 April:  Despite ban GMO corn gluten feed from US unloaded in Rotterdam harbour.