Japan halts some US grain imports after unapproved GM crops found

Japan has suspended some imports of grain from the US after the discovery in an Oregon field of gene-altered crops developed by Monsanto that never won approval for consumption.

Japan has halted imports of western-white wheat and feed wheat from the US, and cancelled a plan to buy 24,926 metric tons of western-white wheat in an import tender, said Hiromi Iwahama, director for grain trade and operation at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

The action is aimed at preventing unapproved crops from entering the food chain, he said.