Posted on 10-3-2002
$9
million Settlement In GE Corn Suit
By Mike Robinson, Associated Press
CHICAGO A federal judge approved a $9 million settlement Thursday
in a
class-action lawsuit by consumers who complained of allergic
reactions to
genetically modified corn in supermarket products.
Under the settlement approved by U.S. District Judge James Moran,
a group
of food companies will attach $6 million in coupons, each good
for a dollar
off, to packages of their products. Any portion of the $6 million
not used
by consumers through the coupons will be paid into a fund that
will be used
to support as-yet-undetermined charities or food research groups.
The Chicago law firm of Krislov and Associates, which handled
the suit,
will receive $2.4 million. Some $600,000 is earmarked for administering
the
coupon program. Attorney Clinton A. Krislov said the defendants
have not
disclosed how much each will contribute to the settlement amount.
The
StarLink corn seed was created by one of the defendants in the
case,
Aventis CropScience USA Holding Inc. of Research Triangle Park,
N.C. It was
licensed to Garst Seed Co. of Slater, Iowa, for sale to farmers.
The seed
was engineered to include the protein Cry9C, which is deadly
to the
European corn borer, a pest that damages crops. The seed had
been approved
by the Environmental Protection Agency for use in animal feed
but not for
human consumption.
Testing that led to the lawsuit began when an environmental
group found
StarLink corn in taco shells. Somehow, the StarLink corn had
been mixed
with regular corn in a number of cases. Aventis and Garst were
defendants
in the lawsuit along with Kraft Foods Co. of Glenview, Ill.;
Azteca Foods
Inc. of Chicago; Azteca Milling, Co. of Edinburg, Texas; and
a sister
company, Mission Foods Co. Aventis CropScience issued a statement
denying
any liability but saying the company believed the settlement
"is the best
possible way to move forward." Aventis CropScience has not licensed
StarLink since 2000. Messages seeking comment left at the corporate
offices
of the other defendants were not immediately returned.
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