Controls on livestock feed after GM scare
Many politicians and environmentalists called for a complete ban on US feed imports, but the Commission ruled that imports of both commodities from the US will now be permitted only if accompanied by an analytical report from an accredited laboratory, which unequivocally guarantees they do not include Bt10 genetically modified maize.
As a result, livestock farmers in the EU may face higher prices for these feeds, to cover the extra costs of importers of ensuring that feeds are certified free of Bt10.
Extra costs will also be incurred by EU member states, given responsibility by the Commission for controlling imports, barring contaminated consignments from the market, and random sampling and analysis of products already on the market.
But the repercussions are much worse for the US feed industry. About four million tons of corn gluten feed are sent to the EU from the US every year, and industry estimates put the possible loss for exporters from contaminated product at €270 million.
Other countries, including Japan, are now considering whether they will copy the EU measure.
US exporters also face expensive recalls of contaminated product, actions for liability, and enormous damage to the reputation of US feeds. A similar problem with Starlink genetic maize cost the US economy more than $1bn in 2001. The costs could be much higher this time.
Twenty-six genetically modified products are cleared for use in the EU, which imports huge quantities of genetically modified feed crops (maize, rapeseed, and soybean) from the US, but Bt10 maize is banned because it is not certified in either the US or Europe.
Developed by the Swiss company, Syngenta, it has a gene that makes it resistant to the Ampicillin antibiotic.
Experts fear that if humans consume animals that have been fed with the corn they could develop immunities to antibiotics.
About 1,000 tonnes of Bt10 maize, all from the US, have entered the EU in animal feed, corn flour and corn oil, according to the European Commission.
Following the Bt10 controversy, John Heney, rural development chairman of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association, called on the Irish Government to initiate a comprehensive public debate on consumption and cultivation of GM food in Ireland.
“The unseemly rush by vested interests on both sides of the Atlantic to play down this scandal also alarms ICSA. The reality is that the Bush administration failed for three months to inform European customers that they were importing banned maize and the scandal was admitted only after it was exposed by the scientific magazine Nature on March 22.
“This type of spin is very reminiscent of the deceitful, political and industry inspired cover-up associated with the BSE crisis. Irish farming is still struggling to recover from the effects of that disaster and Irish farmers certainly cannot afford to have another food scandal foisted on them,” concluded Mr Heney.
