EU GM CORN TEST IN PLACE, IMPORTS FROM US RESUME
BRIDGES Trade BioRes, Vol. 5 No. 8 29 April 2005

The approval of a new test for GM corn strain Bt10 has led to an end of a week-long de facto ban on exports of US corn feed. A 15 April EU decision required all imports of corn feed and brewers' grains from the US to be accompanied by an analytical report issued by an accredited laboratory certifying that the import is free of Bt10, an unapproved strain of GM corn that has been unintentionally shipped into the EU from the US since 2001 (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 15 April 2005, http://www.ictsd.org/biores/05-04-15/story4.htm). However, the absence of a test to distinguish between Bt10 and Bt11 made certification impossible and resulted in a de facto ban on all corn feed imports from the US into the EU. On 25 April the EU's Joint Research Centre approved the biotech firm Syngenta's testing method for Bt10 as an accredited testing procedure and the test is now in place in US ports where trade in GM corn and brewers' grains has resumed. Japan has also expressed concern about Bt10 and asked the US Food and Drug Administration earlier this week to provide assurances that Bt10 is safe. The Japanese government is currently considering whether to begin testing for Bt10 in US corn shipments.

"EU lab OKs testing method for biotech corn," FORBES, 25 April 2005; "Syngenta EU Corn Imports Prove Free of GMO Strain," REUTERS, 27 April 2005; "US corn grower official cites Japan biotech qualms," REUTERS, 27 April 2005.