Posted on 4-8-2002

US Moves, Slowly, On GM Food
By ANDREW POLLACK, NY Times 2/8/02

Worried that unapproved genetically modified crops will leak into the food
supply, the White House is proposing new safety reviews to better protect
consumers and to avoid the need for disruptive recalls.

The proposed new rules, which are being published today in the Federal
Register, are based on the premise that there are so many field trials of
experimental genetically engineered crops that some of the crops will
almost inevitably find their way into food, either by cross-pollination or
because some of the modified seeds become mixed with other seeds. Because
the crops that are being tested have not been approved for commercial
growing or human consumption, even low levels of contamination could prompt
health concerns or food recalls.

So the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is suggesting
that the crops undergo a preliminary safety assessment by the Food and Drug
Administration or the Environmental Protection Agency before field trials
grow so large that such contamination would be likely. The assessment,
which would not be required, would look at whether the new protein
introduced into the crop by gene splicing was toxic or would cause
allergies. If the crop was deemed not to be harmful, then low levels that
inadvertently leaked into the food supply would not be cause for alarm or
recalls. The government also hopes that importers of American crops or food
would not reject shipments because of a low-level presence of unapproved
genetically modified crops. The proposal does not spell out how much
contamination might be permissible. Field trials are now subject to the
approval of the Agriculture Department, which looks mainly at environmental
effects. The F.D.A. or the E.P.A. look at the health aspects but usually
not until the crop moves closer to commercialization. Those assessments
would still be made.

The Biotechnology Industry Organization, which represents biotechnology
crop developers, welcomed the new proposals. "For consumers, this
enhancement adds yet another layer of assurance to the existing regulatory
review of agricultural crops," it said in a statement.

But Andrew Kimbrell, director of the Center for Food Safety, a Washington
group opposed to genetically engineered foods, said the proposal, while a
step in the right direction, was "too little too late." "They are
recognizing that there is a likely or future problem with contamination of
conventional crops with genetically engineered varieties creating potential
health risks," he said. But, he added, the proposed new policy does not
address the trials that are already under way, so his group will seek a
moratorium on field trials until the new regulations are in place. He also
said his group wanted to make sure the regulations were "not simply a
disguise to bail out companies" if their experimental crops end up in food.

Gene Grabowski, a spokesman for the Grocery Manufacturers of America, said
food companies would have preferred the safety assessment be made mandatory
to send a stronger signal to consumers. The biotechnology and food
industries have already been stung by some incidents of contamination. Most
notable was the case when genetically modified StarLink corn, which had
been approved only for animal feed, was found in taco shells and other
foods, causing large recalls and severely hurting American corn exports. In
April, Monsanto and Aventis CropScience, two developers of genetically
modified crops, said some genetically modified canola seeds not approved in
the United States might have found their way into farmers' fields.

The proposed new policies would go through a period of public comment and
might take months to become effective.