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THE discovery in the US of food contaminated by a genetically modified crop
approved only for animal feed could have serious repercussions. Activists are
demanding that GM crops shouldn鈥檛 be approved if they can鈥檛 safely be eaten by
people鈥攁 move that could stall efforts to use GM plants for industrial
uses such as making drugs, plastics and biofuels.

Aventis CropScience of North Carolina last week voluntarily withdrew its
StarLink maize after traces were found in taco shells and also agreed to buy
back all of this year鈥檚 crop. Because StarLink is engineered to produce an
insecticidal protein called Cry9C that shares some properties with known
allergens, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had approved it only for
animal consumption.

It is not clear how StarLink got into the food chain. There might have been a
mix-up at a mill, a farmer could have passed off the animal feed as corn fit for
humans to get a higher price, or StarLink maize may have pollinated other maize
growing nearby. The Food and Drug Administration is investigating how controls
failed.

Friends of the Earth, which triggered the recall by sending maize products to
an independent lab for testing, remains doubtful that GM plants can be
effectively segregated. 鈥淲e are absolutely convinced that the FDA has not been
diligent enough in protecting our food supply,鈥� says Mark Helm of FoE. 鈥淭he FDA
has to do a heck of a lot more pre-market safety testing.鈥�

鈥淭his experience absolutely raises the bar and raises the safety standard,鈥�
admits an EPA official who did not want his name revealed. 鈥淪ince the Cry9C
protein could have occurred in human food, that raises the bar substantially on
approving something just for animal use.鈥�

However, Dale Andolphe of the Canola Council of Canada in Winnipeg, a
farmers鈥� group, is worried about the effect that will have on the development of
鈥減lant factories鈥� that could churn out everything from vaccines to plastic
polymers. 鈥淚f StarLink was for the production of biodiesel products, it would
never get food approval,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e need to maintain integrity in the food
safety system. But I don鈥檛 know if a prohibition on industrial-use products is
谤别辩耻颈谤别诲.鈥�

He points out that industrial varieties of food crops have long been grown.
Some rapeseed, or canola, for example, is used to make industrial lubricants and
contains high levels of compounds toxic to humans. Newer varieties destined for
human consumption have been bred to have lower levels of these toxins. In
countries such as Britain and Canada, where both types are grown, there are
strict controls to prevent contamination.