Agency tests Irish stores for contaminated rice

THE Irish Food Safety Authority is testing supermarket products for illegal genetically modified rice that has turned up in other EU countries.

A fifth of recent imports of US long-grain rice into Europe were contaminated with the GM strain according to the European Commission.

But testing has not yet begun for a potentially more dangerous form of GM rice from China discovered by Greenpeace in Britain, Germany and France last month.

Scientists warn it caused serious allergic reactions in mice and would be dangerous for babies and young children.

Biotech rice is banned from being grown, sold or marketed in the EU. Greenpeace says the fact that two forms of illegal GM rice were discovered in Europe is proof that the industry is out of control.

Most of Europe’s rice comes from the US where just one variety of GM rice has been approved, but has not yet been grown by farmers.

Liberty Link Rice 601, a strain developed in the US by the German chemical giant Bayer which has not been approved for human consumption, appears to have been mixed with a non GM crop.

“We are told this was human error“, said an expert.

After being alerted last month by US authorities’ 163 batches of rice that arrived in Rotterdam were tested by the Federation of European Rice Millers and 33 were contaminated.

Greenpeace said tests carried out at a respected and independent laboratory found traces of the GM rice in some Aldi Bon-Ri brand products sold in Germany.

The Swedes say initial tests have discovered traces of GM rice and the French authorities say seven of 20 samples tested positive.

Dr Pat O’Mahony, chief biotechnology specialist with the FSAI, said 14,500 kilos were imported into the country from the US in the last four months.

Most of this was destined for restaurants and hotels and had been consumed by now. They found one batch and are testing it together with some rice bought in a supermarket last week.

“The first results will be known later this week or next week and then there will have to be further tests,” he said.

Dr O’Mahony said he believed the GM rice was not a health risk since it was closely related to the single variety that has been approved for human use.