What About Those Genetically Engineered Long-Grain Rice Grains Found in Commercial Samples?

USA Rice Federation explains what it’s all about

ARLINGTON, VA, August 28, 2006 — U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns’ announcement Aug. 18 that minute amounts of genetically engineered rice were discovered in the 2005 crop of southern U.S. long-grain rice came as a surprise to an industry that had chosen to not grow such rice prior to consumer market acceptance and regulatory approval.

When Secretary Johanns made his announcement, the USDA and Food and Drug Administration unequivocally emphasized that the long-grain rice in question — the regulated LL601 variety genetically engineered by Bayer CropScience — is safe for human consumption.

USDA and Bayer quickly explained that Bayer would seek expedited approval for its LL601 product. The expedited approval process, estimated to take 60 days, is related only to environmental effects. LL601 had not been taken through USDA’s environmental approval process because Bayer said it had not intended to develop the strain. The Aug. 18 announcement, notwithstanding that the product is safe, raised concerns in overseas markets.

On Aug. 25, just one week after the USDA announcement, the European Union’s Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health endorsed the Aug. 23 recommendation by the European Commission to accept only U.S. long-grain rice tested “by an accredited laboratory using a validated testing method.” Consignments without proper certification are to be returned to the USA or destroyed. The Standing Committee said that it will reassess its ruling in six months.

It should be clearly understood by everyone that LL601 is not only safe for human consumption, but has been reported present in the southern U.S. long-grain rice supply in trace amounts of only 0.06 of one percent — that is, six grains of LL601 for every 10,000 grains of rice, far lower than the tolerances for other genetically engineered crops now admitted to the EU.

The principal issue for the EU is that the LL601 long-grain rice does not yet have EU regulatory approval. However, the LL601 protein has already been approved for use in other crops in some EU countries, and in Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Japan, China, Australia, South Africa, South Korea and Russia, according to Cindy Smith, deputy administrator for biotechnology regulatory services with USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

The USA Rice Federation staff since Aug. 18 has been working with its members and federal and industry officials to get to the source of the problem and resolve issues that are the natural result of such an event. USA Rice Federation continues to ask Bayer for answers, and USDA is conducting an official investigation of what happened. USA Rice strongly supports that effort.

Accurate testing to help gauge the full extent of the LL601 presence and to facilitate the testing requirement for overseas markets, both of great importance to the industry, are now available. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) late Thursday, Aug. 24, announced the validation of two tests to detect the LL 601 rice. “Both tests are real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods — one that detects 35SBAR DNA sequence found in LLRICE and another that detects the DNA sequence specific to the LLRICE 601 trait,” the GIPSA announcement says.

Laboratories may now use the tests to authoritatively determine the presence of LL601. Estimates for the cost of the tests range from $200 to $500. Bayer CropScience has so far offered to pay for testing of shipments destined only for significant export markets. Five testing laboratories are listed on the Bayer CropScience Web site:

· Mid-West Seed Services, Inc., Brookings, SD

· Biogenetic Services Inc., Brookings, SD

· BioDiagnostics Inc., River Falls, WI

· SGS North America Inc., Memphis, TN

· Eurofins GeneScan Incorporated, Metairie, LA

The USA Rice Web site will post news and developments related to Bayer’s LL601 rice presence. Coverage is also available each day in USA Rice Daily, the award-winning USA Rice electronic newsletter available on a free subscription basis.

Contact: David Coia, (703) 236-1444, dcoia@usarice.com

— 30 —

USA Rice Federation is the national advocate for all segments of the rice industry, conducting activities to influence government programs, developing and initiating programs to increase worldwide demand for U.S. rice, and providing other services to increase profitability for all industry segments.