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.