USA Rice Disappointed with APHIS Approval of Pharmaceutical Rice Production in Kansas

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2007 — Contacts: David Coia, (703) 236-2300

USA Rice Disappointed with APHIS Approval of Pharmaceutical Rice Production in Kansas

The USA Rice Federation today expressed its disappointment with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) approval of the Ventria Bioscience request to grow rice containing human proteins in Geary County, Kansas.

“We have concluded that these field releases [for the genetically engineered rice] will not present a risk of introducing or disseminating a plant pest,” says a notice published in today’s edition of the Federal Register. “Based on the finding of no significant impact, [APHIS] has determined that an environmental impact statement need not be prepared for these field releases,” the notice says.

“The USA Rice Federation is disappointed with the APHIS decision, and hopes Ventria and regulators will carefully ensure that sound and enforced protocols will prevent contamination of the commercial rice supply — an event that would be devastating to the rice industry,” USA Rice Chairman Al Montna said today.

“The U.S. rice industry is still reeling from the release of Bayer CropScience’s genetically engineered Liberty Link rice into U.S. Delta-region rice fields,” USA Rice Producers’ Group Chairman Paul T. Combs said. “We are living with the effect of unintended events and consequences. This decision will not generate any comfort among U.S. commercial rice growers.”

“The subject plants have been genetically engineered, using techniques of micro-projectile bombardment or disarmed Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, to express proteins for recombinant human lactoferrin, lysozyme, or serum albumin,” the APHIS notice says. USA Rice Federation comments filed on March 29 strongly recommended that APHIS deny Ventria permission to grow the rice.

Only 29 of the 20,034 comments APHIS received supported Ventria’s biopharming in Kansas. Excluding two large sets of “nearly identical” opposition comments, 1,097 comments opposed Ventria’s proposal.

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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.