StarLink Corn Discovered in Beer Product

AP 13jan01

[Reuters article below]

A variety of biotech corn that spawned nationwide recalls of taco shells has since been found by government scientists in a corn product intended for the brewing industry, but in no other foods or ingredients.

The finding by the Food and Drug Administration was disclosed in a letter released yesterday by Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.).

The FDA began testing a variety of corn products for the StarLink corn after anti-biotech groups found it last September in Taco Bell-brand taco shells distributed by Kraft Foods. The genetically engineered corn was approved only for animal feed and industrial uses.

As of Dec. 20, FDA had tested 129 of 193 product samples for StarLink and found it both in the Kraft taco shells and the brewery ingredient, according to the letter. The beer product was subsequently withdrawn from distribution by the processor before it reached brewers, FDA officials said.

StarLink never was approved for human consumption because of unresolved questions about whether a special protein it contains, known as Cry9C, can cause allergic reactions.

StarLink Contamination Found in Beer Ingredient According to F.D.A.

Reuters 13jan01

WASHINGTON - StarLink, a biotech corn variety not approved for human consumption, was found in an ingredient used by some U.S. beer makers, federal regulators said in a letter released on Friday by Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin.

The discovery of StarLink contamination in taco shells by an environmental group last September triggered a recall of more than 300 U.S. foods, forced the buy-back of millions of bushels of corn, and disrupted exports to key buyers such as Japan.

The incident also raised fresh questions about the adequacy of U.S. regulations for genetically-altered foods, which fall under the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Agriculture Department.

The FDA, which has said little about its investigation of the StarLink contamination, revealed in a letter to Sen. Durbin that it had analyzed 129 U.S. food samples through mid-December and found two that tested positive for StarLink.

One of the positive samples was the same brand of taco shells discovered by the environmental group. The other was for a special corn ingredient used by brewers to make beer.

``FDA also has identified the presence of StarLink corn, by both protein and DNA testing, in a corn meal product marketed to the brewing industry,'' Joseph Levitt, director of the FDA's center for food safety, said in a letter to Durbin. The letter was also signed by Jim Aidala, an EPA assistant administrator, and by Enrique Figueroa, a USDA deputy undersecretary.

The ingredient, however, never made it into the retail market and consumers were not exposed to it, according to an FDA source. The tiny corn flakes, which are used by only a few U.S. brewers, were immediately withdrawn by the maker after the contamination was discovered, the source said.

Because the ingredient never reached consumers, it was not listed among the more than 300 foods recalled by manufacturers that was published by the FDA a few weeks ago.

The FDA has tested a wide variety of U.S. corn products, including cereals, corn chips, puffed corn snacks, corn syrup, stuffing mixes, tortillas and baby foods, according to the letter.

Durbin, a Democrat, asked all three agencies in November to describe what they were doing to halt any further contamination by StarLink.

Federal regulators approved StarLink only for animal feed in 1998, citing lingering concerns about whether it might cause allergic reactions in humans. Aventis last fall asked the EPA to grant temporary approval to StarLink for human food that has already been processed and sold.

The EPA has been mulling the request, but no decision was imminent, an agency spokesman said.

Durbin said he planned to introduce legislation that would generally prohibit the approval of bio-foods for animal use but not for human consumption.

``It makes no sense to have grain out there that animals can eat but not humans,'' he said in a statement. ``Split-use foods put all farmers and consumers at risk, and once their products are contaminated, the damage can't be undone.''

StarLink, a variety of corn engineered to resist destructive pests, is made by Aventis SA .

The corn, which was grown on less than one percent of U.S. cornfields last year, was accidentally mixed with vast amounts of other corn by farmers, grain elevators and food processors.