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Illegal GM rice cover-up by EFSA and Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI)
Illegal and untested genetically modified (GM) rice from the USA and China has been on sale in Ireland for years even though all GM rice is banned in the EU. The American long-grain GM rice variety LL601 manufactured by Bayer CropScience escaped from field experiments in the USA in 1998-2001, and contaminated global food supplies without detection until January 2006. It has since been discovered in 24 countries, including 15 in Europe, and the US government can not predict where it may turn up next. The unapproved rice contains virus DNA suspected of causing pre-cancerous growth, and bacterial DNA for resistance to glufosinate ammonium weedkiller, a neurotoxin linked to birth defects. Bayer refused to make public a secret dossier suspected of containing evidence that LL601 is particularly dangerous because genetically unstable, and persuaded the US Department of Agriculture to retroactively legalise the rice in the USA to minimise liability for the adverse financial consequences of world-wide contamination which threw the rice futures market into turmoil. After finding 40% of the US rice crop contaminated, US rice growers say it may never again be possible for anyone to grow GMO-free rice in the USA. Denying any culpability, Bayer variously blames the contamination on "unavoidable circumstances", "farmers negligence", and "an act of God" – the first time that God was alleged to reside in a transnational corporation.
The European Food Safety Authority's "positive scientific assessments" of the illegal rice are worthless. Twelve "certified GM-free" US rice shipments to the EU turned out to be contaminated, along with rice certified GM-free after testing by Dunnes Stores and Marks & Spencer. Switzerland, Japan, and Russia have banned all US long-grain rice imports. The EU member states waited until late October before requiring mandatory testing of US long-grain rice (at the exporters expense) at EU entry ports, but left the door open for two more illegal GM rice varieties (LL62 rice also manufactured by Bayer CropScience, and Chinese Bt63 rice which produces its own pesticide), and failed to call for suspect products to be recalled.
Cover up: the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) GMO panel said there is insufficient data to claim the illegal rice presents no health risk. But EFSA itself and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) made the claim anyway. Both EFSA and FSAI have close ties to the agribiotech lobby. The FSAI's CEO Dr. John O'Brien is a former director of the International Life Sciences Institute biotech industry lobby group. FSAI failed to ban US rice imports, require strict control of imports from other rice-producing countries, recall suspect products, and waited until 9 October before calling for tenders to test food samples, although it called for some contaminated products to be taken off supermarket shelves on 11 October. See our 30 Aug press release and 22 Sept news alert.
GM free Ireland wrote an open letter to Dr. Pat O'Mahony of the FSAI on 22 September with 40 questions concerning the cover-up. The FSAI reply of 26 Sept. provided no answers. We sent a letter to Dick Roche, Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government, on 19 October in advance of the EU Council of Environment Ministers meeting to discuss the crisis on 23 October in Brussels. We also sent a letter Dr. Pat O'Mahony of FSAI and a letter to Tom McLoughlin of the EPA who met on the same day with the European Commission Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health.
Legal action: US rice growers have filed numerous class action lawsuits against Bayer for hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenues.
Friends of the Earth has taken the UK Food Standards Agency to the High Court for failing to prevent unauthorised GM rice entering the UK food chain, and for allowing food retailers to carry on as normal without testing or product withdrawals. The case will be heard on 20 and 21 February 2007 (see details).
Similar legal action could be taken in Ireland against the FSAI.
Contaminated food brands: Bayer's illegal LL601 rice has been sold (since 1998?) by Aldi, Centra, Dunnes Stores, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Musgrave, Supervalu, and Tesco. Contaminated brands include St. Bernard Easy Cook Rice, M&S American Easy Cook Rice, Nice Price Long Grain Rice (sold by Musgrave, Supervalu and Centra), and Tesco own-brand US long-grain rice. Gerber baby food, Kellogs Rice Krispies, and Uncle Ben's may also be contaminated.
Related media coverage: see our News sections for August, September, October, November and December 2006 and for January and February 2007.
