News
09.11.2009
E.U. authorizes three types of GM corn for import
The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) announced on Nov. 5 that the European Union (E.U.) authorized three types of genetically modified corn for food, feed, import and processing.
The decision was made on Oct. 30. The final step in the approval process is publication by the European Commission, the council said.
Two of the corn technologies were developed by council member Monsanto Company, YieldGard VT Pro (MON 89034) and YieldGard VT Rootworm/RR2 (MON 88017). The third variety, Herculex RW protection trait stacked with Roundup Ready Corn 2 (also known as 59122/NK603), was jointly developed by council members Pioneer, A DuPont Business and Dow AgroSciences LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dow Chemical Company.
"It remains to be seen when U.S. corn gluten feed (CGF) and DDGS (distiller’s dried grains with solubles) to the European Union will resume, but we are hopeful it’s soon," said Kurt Shultz, USGC director in the Mediterranean and Africa.
Corn products containing MON 89034, MON 88017 and Herculex RW protection trait stacked with Roundup Ready Corn 2 (also known as 59122/NK603) are now permitted for import into the E.U., the council said. Rebecca Fecitt, USGC director of Biotechnology Programs, said these decisions offer encouragement that sound science is moving towards the front of the line when decisions are made.
"We are very pleased to hear these products have received approval in the E.U., following the European Food Safety Authority’s positive opinions on the safety of these products," Fecitt said. "There are still products awaiting review in the E.U., and we hope they will receive approval soon as well."
Shultz said the good news is end-users and feedmillers in the E.U. want to resume imports of U.S. corn and co-products, especially DDGS and CGF.
"There is no doubt our customers in the E.U. would like to import these corn co-products like they did prior to very strict regulations," Shultz said. "It is hard to tell how this will all play out, considering each country in the E.U. has different testing procedures when it comes to biotech-derived products."
World Grain
