The European Union has today (Friday 15th April) decided to prohibit all imports of US maize gluten feed which cannot be guaranteed free of Bt10, an illegal GM maize variety that has recently contaminated US farms and been imported into the EU. This decision is likely to mean a de facto ban on all US maize imports, since the GM company Syngenta, which produced Bt10 maize, has been unable to provide a method to detect for its presence.
Greenpeace warned that without more coherent action by EU governments Europe will remain exposed to high-risk imports of illegal GMOs, in wheat, rice, soybeans and rape seed, as well as maize.Greenpeace GM Campaigner Ben Ayliffe said: "There's no point the EU having rules on importing GM crops if companies like Syngenta or the US government can flout them whenever they choose, so it's about time the EU blocked US maize that could be contaminated with Bt10. This whole affair has not only shown just how uncontrollable GM crops are, but also how lax the current GM controls are on both sides of the Atlantic. Bt10 maize is illegal and untested, but was still imported here for years without anyone knowing."
This GM contamination case is not the first of its kind, and without stronger action by the EU and member states it might not be the last. Just days ago, Greenpeace revealed that batches of rice in China had been contaminated with an illegal and completely untested strain of GM rice. China exported more than 15,000 tonnes of rice to the EU in 2003.
Ben Ayliffe added: "Bt10 shows that the GM industry is out of control. The EU needs to smarten up its act to protect consumers and the environment, but there are also worrying signs that here in the UK, authorities have done nothing to stop the import of this illegal GM maize."
Further information
Contact the Greenpeace Press Office on 020 7865 8255 or Ben Ayliffe on 020 7865 8282.
Find out more on the Bt10 incident.
