Pioneer Genetically Engineered Crop Trials Investigated Again

PHILIP BRASHER / Des Moines Register 24apr03

Washington, DC—Pioneer Hi-Bred International is under investigation again for its management of field trials of genetically engineered corn in Hawaii.

The Environmental Protection Agency fined the Des Moines-based company $9,900 last year for planting a test plot of biotech corn too close to a seed crop and ordered the company to test the seed corn for genetic contamination from the experimental plants. The EPA said Wednesday that the testing turned up contamination from a second plot.

The EPA also announced that Pioneer had been fined $72,000 for failing to report its test results within the required 24 hours.

EPA enforcement officer Amy Miller said there was no risk that the food supply was contaminated, because the plants that tested positive for the biotech gene were destroyed before pollination.

However, Greg Jaffe of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a private advocacy group, said the case raises questions about federal oversight of genetically engineered crops.

"If we hadn't had this testing by EPA, we would have never known about this," Jaffe said.

A smaller biotech company, ProdiGene Inc., was fined last year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for mismanaging corn field trials in Iowa and Nebraska. Pioneer's experimental corn was engineered to be toxic to an insect pest.

Pioneer's two test plots fall under the jurisdiction of different agencies. The EPA was responsible for the first site because it exceeded 10 acres and involved a crop engineered to kill pests. The agriculture department oversaw the second plot, which was less than an acre.

USDA spokesman Jim Rogers confirmed that the department was investigating Pioneer but declined to comment further.

Pioneer spokeswoman Courtney Chabot Dreyer said the company believes it complied with the requirements of its USDA permit and is cooperating with the investigation. The seed corn was growing within an acre of the USDA-regulated plot, she said.

source: http://desmoinesregister.com/business/stories/c4789013/21086645.html 24apr03