KEN THOMAS / AP 15nov00
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Sixteen state attorneys general are pressing a genetically modified corn producer to do more to compensate farmers and grain elevators hurt when the strain showed up in the food supply.
The StarLink corn was engineered to be toxic to insect pests. It was approved for animal feed but not cleared for human consumption in the United States because of questions about its potential to cause allergic reactions.
Its discovery in taco shells set off a widespread U.S. recall.
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller urged Aventis CropScience on Wednesday to establish more steps to handle claims.
``We told Aventis that our goals are to protect the food chain, to keep the grain-handling system running smoothly to reduce any additional losses and to protect the economic interests of farmers, elevators and others in the grain industry,'' Miller said in a statement. ``Aventis has taken some initial steps, but we urge them to go further.''
Aventis CropScience is the agrochemicals division of Aventis SA of Strasbourg, France, which announced Wednesday that it plans to sell or spin off the division. Aventis SA said the move would allow it to focus on its pharmaceuticals, which include the allergy drug Allegra.
The company already has agreed to pay farmers 25 cents per bushel over normal local prices for StarLink and ``buffer corn'' -- crops grown near the genetically modified corn that might be cross-pollinated.
Aventis also is reimbursing the U.S. Agriculture Department for the cost of shipping and storing the corn to make sure it goes to livestock or industrial uses. The company said it will pay grain elevators for additional transportation and testing costs.
Aventis last week estimated the cost of recovering the crop at ``significantly below'' $1 billion.
The attorneys general are asking for an expedited claims process; increased transportation and storage capabilities with more storage sites, additional staff members to answer questions and more testing resources; and further steps to accept responsibility for economic losses.
Aventis said it takes those concerns seriously and will work with farmers, elevator operators and grain handlers on a case-by-case basis. The company has acknowledged that some farmers did not know about restrictions on the corn's use.
The letter asking for more compensation, dated Tuesday, also was signed by attorneys general from Alabama, Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Tennessee.
Meanwhile, a Japanese consumer group met with U.S. Embassy officials Wednesday asking for improved screening to prevent corn shipments contaminated with StarLink from entering Japan. The group said last month that StarLink corn had been found in food in Japan.
Associated Press Writer Angela Doland in Paris contributed to this report.
- USDA biotechnology: http://www.http://www.aphis.usda.gov/biotechnology
- Aventis StarLink: http://www.starlinkcorn.com
- Genetically Engineered Food Alert: http://www.gefoodalert.org
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