USDA To Improve Biotech Standards

AP 29nov00

WASHINGTON -- The government is looking to improve the tracking and detection of biotech crops to protect markets for both gene-altered and conventional foods, and avoid further disruptions in grain trading and processing.

``In order to protect our domestic and foreign markets and ensure public confidence, it's essential that we improve our ability to identify and track genetically modified products,'' Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said Wednesday.

He said the department will take public comment on steps his department could take, including setting definitions for biotech and conventional crops as part of the government's system of quality grades and standards.

The Agriculture Department also could start certifying grain-handling systems to ensure they keep biotech crops separate from conventionally bred varieties.

Since the spring, the agency has worked on the ideas, which took on a new urgency when a variety of biotech corn not approved for human consumption was discovered in taco shells this fall. Some food processors had to suspend operations to clean out the grain, and U.S. corn exports have dropped sharply.

Glickman blamed the crop's developer, Aventis CropScience, which was supposed to ensure that its StarLink corn was only used for animal feed or industrial uses, such as production of ethanol, a gasoline additive.

Agriculture experts and food industry officials say the problem exposed flaws in farm practices and the nation's grain-handling system. Some farmers did not keep track of where they planted the corn, while others apparently were not told of government-imposed restrictions on how the crop was to be grown and used.

``The StarLink problem illustrates how difficult the segregation problem will be. I don't think this is something that processors and industry can work out themselves. Having a USDA role will be helpful,'' said Jane Rissler, a biotech specialist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, an advocacy group.

She and other biotech critics believe the government should go further and require the labeling of foods containing biotech ingredients, an idea the Clinton administration has rejected.

But both consumers and the biotech industry could benefit if the Agriculture Department improves the tracking of biotech crops, said Kelly Johnston, executive vice president of government affairs for the National Food Processors Association.

For example, consumers would know for sure whether food that claims to be free of biotech ingredients really is, he said. ``Those who want that kind of choice ought to be willing to bear the cost of doing that,'' he added.

Any decision on new regulations would be up to the next administration because Glickman will leave office in January.

The Agriculture Department also is weighing how to regulate trees and ornamental plants being developed through genetic engineering, Glickman said. Agency officials are concerned about the new plants cross-pollinating with weedy relatives and causing environmental damage.

Dozens of field trials are being conducted on various trees, flowers and grasses that have been engineered to have special traits.

They include varieties of Kentucky bluegrass that would be resistant to drought or weedkillers; petunias whose flowers would stay on longer; and poplar trees that could resist insects or fungus.

• USDA's biotechnology site: http://www.usda.gov/agencies/biotech/index.html
• Union of Concerned Scientists: http://www.ucsusa.org
• National Food Processors Association: http://www.nfpa-food.org