GE NEWS
SAN DIEGO, March 20 (Reuter) - The current controversy
in certain European Union member nations over genetically modified U.S.
crops is being viewed by the U.S. Agriculture Department as a serious concern,
a senior USDA official said on Thursday.
"We view this as a very, very serious situation,"
said USDA's General Sales Manager Chris Goldthwait in an interview with
Reuters.
Goldthwait said EU rulings last year that genetically
engineered U.S. soybeans and corn did not pose any health threats and should
be allowed into Europe should be adhered to by EU nations.
Despite the ruling, Germany, Italy, and other nations
have expressed reservations about the crops that were first sold commercially
by U.S. farmers last year, and have staged protests against their use.
"We're quite disappointed that other countries
are trying to find a way around it... it shouldn't be allowed to happen,"
said Goldthwait.
The situation could be even more messy this year, as
American producers are expected to sharply increase their plantings this
spring of the gene-altered crops.
Plantings of Roundup Ready soybeans, developed by Monsanto
Co <MTC.N>, are expected to total eight to 10 million acres, up sharply
from just over one million acres in 1996.
Goldthwait, who was attending an annual meeting of the
National Grain and Feed Association, said that U.S. action will be predicated
upon what the EU does, but he maintained that any move to not abide by
EU's earlier rulings would be illegal.
The official said U.S. and EU officials are continuing
to hold talks on the issue, and that he hopes the EU will soon be taking
some concrete action on the situation.
500 tons of GE chocolate recalled in Switzerland
Swiss Co. Recalls Chocolate Bars
Friday, March 21, 1997 4:36 pm EST
ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) -- Some 500 tons of Switzerland's best-known chocolate
bar are being recalled after a routine check revealed the presence of illegal
genetically altered soybeans.
In a move that will hurt the company in the pre-Easter buying spree, Kraft-Jacobs-Suchard
said Friday it had already started pulling Toblerone bars off store shelves.
Authorities in Bern, Switzerland, found traces of genetically altered soybeans
in lecithin -- an ingredient in chocolate.
``It's a shock for the company,'' said board president Walter Anderau.
Anderau said the German supplier had assured Kraft-Jacobs-Suchard that
the lecithin was free of bioengineered soybeans.
The 15-nation European Union agreed last spring to allow the sale of gene
modified soybeans, and Switzerland, although not an EU member, followed
suit. Its decision was put on hold in January following a legal challenge
from consumer groups.
European environmental and consumer groups have complained that no special
labels are required for gene-modified soybeans, which make up 1 to 2 percent
of this year's U.S. soybean crop. The groups worry that genetically altered
food products could reduce the effectiveness of antibiotic medicines.
Anderau said although the lecithin posed no health risks, the company was
forced to recall the Toblerone bars because they could not be legally sold
in Switzerland.
Between 400 and 500 tons of Toblerone produced at the company's Bern plant
were affected, he said.
He said it was too early to assess the financial costs to the company.
Other products, including Easter eggs and bunnies, were not involved in
the recall because they did not contain the lecithin in question, said
Anderau.
Richard Wolfson, PhD
Campaign to Ban Genetically Engineered Food
Natural Law Party
500 Wilbrod Street
Ottawa, ON Canada K1N 6N2
Tel. 613-565-8517 Fax. 613-565-6546
email: rwolfson@concentric.net
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