Illegal Biotech Corn Found In UK Tortilla Chips - Freinds of the Earth
AP 5nov00

LONDON --Illegal genetically engineered corn has been found in at least three brands of tortilla chips sold in the U.K., an environmental group opposed to biotech foods said Saturday.

Friends of the Earth announced that tests by a German laboratory of 20 products found Monsanto GA21 biotech corn in Phileas Fogg Tortilla Chips and store-brands from supermarket chains Asda (U.AGP) and Safeway (U.SFW)

Traces of an another genetically modified corn, Dekalb DBT418, were also found in two other brands. Both corn types are banned in Britain, but are approved for consumption in the United States.

The U.K. is extremely wary of genetically modified, or GMO, food. Many products sold in the nation's grocery stores carry labels proclaiming them GMO-free.

"This shocking discovery is the latest in a growing list of GM(O) blunders," Friends of the Earth campaigner Adrian Bebb said in a statement. "It's becoming increasingly clear that the biotech industry can't control its products and government regulation is pathetically lax."

Spokesmen from the two supermarket chains said all of the stores' own-brand products have previously been tested and confirmed free of biotech ingredients. However, both said the group's findings would be investigated.

Safeway (SWY) and Kraft Foods (X.KRF) recalled their brands of taco shells in the U.S. earlier this month after they were found to contain a corn not approved for human consumption, called Starlink. The corn contains a bacterium gene that makes it toxic to some insects, and there are fears it could cause allergic reactions in people.