Starlink Still Haunts Grain Industry

Ag leaders say corn contamination four years ago has held back 'pharma crops' 

ANNE FITZGERALD / Des Moines Register 23apr04

Ames, Ia. - Fallout from the contamination of Iowa's corn crop four years ago by StarLink, a brand of corn not approved for human consumption, continues to hurt the industry and block development of so-called pharma crops in Iowa, farmers and industry leaders said at a conference Thursday. StarLink was genetically designed to resist certain pests. Unlike any other genetically modified corn, it was approved for use in livestock feed, but not food because of a fear that it might cause allergic reactions. When it was found in food products during the fall of 2000, it triggered massive recalls and grain export losses. Federal regulators never found that StarLink caused allergic reactions in humans, but they can't say that it won't, so StarLink is not allowed in food.

Grain processors continue to test for the presence of StarLink in corn that they mill for use in food, Jim Bair, an official with the North American Millers Association, said Thursday. He spoke at a day-long symposium on issues facing the pharma corn industry. The added cost is eroding already-tight profit margins, he said. "That is something that's been foisted upon us," Bair said.

Eric Flamm, senior science policy adviser at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said the government does not require the testing. He also said problems linked to StarLink have receded as its presence in the U.S. corn supply has diminished.

"This is really more of a commercial concern," he said.

Nonetheless, officials said, there are lingering issues that must be handled if agriculture is to avoid even bigger problems in the future. "What is concerning is the regulatory environment, which seems really convoluted," said Steve Carter, president of the Iowa State University Research Park.

Officials at Iowa State hope a new project - the Biosafety Institute for Genetically Modified Agricultural Products - will give regulators additional tools. Based at ISU, the institute is developing systems to assess the risks of biotech-based crops, from laboratory to finished product.

"If we have a StarLink II, we are done," said Manjit Misra, head of the institute, which organized Thursday's conference. "We want to make sure that does not happen."

source: http://www.dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040423/BUSINESS01/404230355/1030/BUSINESS01 26apr04