Increased testing for genetically modified (GMO) materials in world wheat supplies will inevitably find them, due to contamination from other crops in the grain-handling system, the head of the Canadian Wheat Board said on Monday.

The expected finding of GMO materials in wheat highlights the need for the grain industry, governments and export markets to agree on accepting low levels of GMO materials, said wheat board chief executive officer Ian White in a presentation at the Canada Grains Council annual meeting in Winnipeg.

There is no commercialized production of GMO wheat in the world, unlike other crops such as canola, corn and soybeans, due to opposition from consumers and food-industry players. GMO wheat production may not start for another 10 years, White said.

"But we will certainly see GM materials through the handling system.

. . . For wheat, it could be a very, very major issue going forward. It's just that at this time, in a lot of areas, testing isn't done."

If that testing were done now, it probably wouldn't find GMO materials, but such findings are "inevitable," White said.

Most wheat importers have zero tolerance for genetically modified materials, White said. The wheat board does not support GMO wheat unless certain conditions are met, including acceptance by key export markets.

"To operate in a zero (tolerance) world, I think it's been demonstrated we can't," said Richard Wansbutter, chair of the Canada Grains Council and vice-president, commercial and government relations, of grain handler Viterra Inc. "We do need market acceptance (of GMO) in our major markets but most critically, a low-level presence policy."

The grain industry has asked Canada's negotiators to include such a policy in its current free-trade talks with the European Union, Wansbutter said.

Tougher testing does not appear imminent because shippers have assured buyers that wheat shipments are GMO-free, White said. However, Japan and the EU, whose consumers are wary of GMO foods, are the most likely to boost testing of wheat first, he said.

The discovery of GMO materials in Canadian flax shipments to the EU last summer has led to a dramatic reduction in flax trade between Canada and the EU.


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