---

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Answer

Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action her Department is taking in connection with the failure of the US Administration to notify the UK before March of the import into the UK since 2001 of GM maize containing an antibiotic resistant marker of a type that the EU had been advised to phase out; and what steps her Department is taking to prevent a recurrence of such an event with reference to (a) regulatory controls in the US and (b) the implementation of controls in the EU. [224888] Mr. Morley: This relates to the incident in the USA where some batches of Syngenta's GM maize seed intended to be Bt11 actually contained an unapproved GM maize event known as Bt10. We were informed of this incident on 22 March and issued a press release on 23 March. Our understanding is that between 2001-04 approximately 15,000 hectares of Bt10 was grown in the USA and most of the resulting grain was used in the USA. Only 18 per cent. of US corn is exported and the levels of maize exported from the US to the EU are very small indeed. The European Commission has been informed that an estimated 1,000 tonnes of Bt10 food and feed products may have entered the European Union (as distinct from the UK) since 2001. We have no evidence at this stage of any import of Bt10 into the UK. We are unaware of the original source of the figure of 170,000 tonnes which you quote. There is no evidence that 170,000 tonnes of Bt10 maize has been imported into the UK; and indeed this figure is an order of magnitude higher than the total annual maize imports into the UK from the US, which are in a range of 4,000 to 14,000 tonnes annually. Following Syngenta's disclosure on 22 March, Defra and the Food Standards Agency have been working with the European Commission and the US authorities to gain information on whether or not any contaminated maize has been imported into the UK. We continue to monitor the situation closely. We have written to maize importers to remind them of the need to check imports of maize and other crops for the presence of GMOs which have not been authorised in the European Union. It is for EU and UK importers to satisfy themselves that imported maize grain and derived products are approved for use and if material is GM that it is appropriately labelled. Our GM Inspectorate and local authority inspectors oversee this process. We understand that the US authorities consider that Bt10 does not present any concerns for human or animal health. Bt10 maize does contain an antibiotic resistance marker gene (which is not present in Bt11). Although the antibiotic resistance marker is in the process of being phased out, the European Food Safety Authority has concluded that this antibiotic resistance marker gene would have minimal, if any, impact on human health if present in GM plants. I should stress that we take incidents of this kind seriously. We do monitor the supply chain records of GM imports and take immediate action if evidence or information indicates the presence of any unauthorized GM product. Our priority is to protect the consumer and environment and ensure there is informed consumer choice.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

432 c1663-4W;432 c1659-60W; 224888

Session

2004-05

Subjects

Crops Genetically modified organisms Import controls Imports Safety USA Maize

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk