# GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES INVESTIGATION INTO ILLEGAL BIOTECH CORN IN TACO SHELLS



## Mike NoLomotil (Jun 6, 2000)

SEPTEMBER 18, 18:03 EDT Govt. Probes Biotech Corn Allegation By PHILIP BRASHER AP Farm Writer Center of Food Safety legal director Joseph Mendelson IIIAP/Michael DiBari [27K]-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON (AP) ï¿½ The government is investigating whether taco shells sold in stores under the Taco Bell name contain a variety of biotech corn that isn't approved for human consumption due to questions about whether it could cause allergic reactions. The crop, which is genetically engineered to kill an insect, is grown on less than 1 percent of the total U.S. corn acreage and approved for use only in animal feed. But tests commissioned by an anti-biotech environmental group found traces of the corn in taco shells that had been purchased in suburban Washington. Officials with the Environmental Protection Agency and Food and Drug Administration said they were looking into the finding and that FDA may have its own tests done. Kraft Foods Co., which made the taco shells, said it would consider a recall if further testing confirmed the initial results. ``Our concern, of course, is whether or not this product, which is registered for animal feed, is somehow illegally finding its way into food that people eat,'' said David Cohen, an EPA spokesman. Taco Bell under attack -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If the test results are correct, FDA officials said they would consider action to get it out of the food supply. The corn at issue, which is produced by Aventis Corp. and goes under the trade name StarLink, is the only biotech crop that isn't approved for human consumption. It is one of several varieties of biotech corn that contains a bacterium gene that makes the plant toxic to the European corn borer. A scientific panel that advises EPA was unable to decide this summer whether the protein in the corn, Cry9C, should be allowed in food. The protein has shown resistance to digestive juices and heat, signs that it might cause allergic reactions. Aventis is required to have agreements with farmers to make sure that the corn is kept separate from grain that is approved for food use. The company could lose its license to market the crop if it violated EPA's restrictions. Kraft made the taco shells at a plant in Mexico using corn meal purchased from a Texas mill, which in turn got the corn from farmers in five states, said Michael Mudd, the company's vice president for corporate affairs. The ``highest priority right now is to confirm whether or not the protein is indeed present in our product,'' he said, adding that ``if a recall is judged to be the right course, that is something we will do immediately.'' Aventis officials denied any wrongdoing and questioned whether the test results were accurate. Anti-biotech activists said the finding showed that the government isn't regulating biotech crops adequately. ``It concerns me and should concern American consumers that this is a glimpse of things to come as genetically engineered products are rushed to store shelves without real mandatory safety testing and labeling programs in place,'' said Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio. The taco shells were among 23 corn products that representatives of the Friends of the Earth submitted to Iowa-based Genetic ID Inc. for testing for the Cry9C protein. Three sets of tests, performed first in August, all found evidence of the protein in the taco shells. None of the other products, including corn flakes, tested positive. ``We used the most sophisticated checks and balances to verify our results and we've done it three times. We've very confident,'' said Jeffrey Smith, Genetic ID's vice president. EPA and biotech industry officials say that the company has made mistakes in the past in testing for gene-altered crops. Aventis officials said they take care to ensure farmers know that the biotech corn can't be put into food channels. Farmers ``are generally very astute businessmen who act responsibly,'' said Aventis spokesman Rick Rountree. ``On the other hand, mistakes can happen, but we've not seen evidence that that's been the case.'' The StarLink corn was grown on about 300,000 acres this year nationwide, or about 0.4 percent of the total corn acreage. About 73 million acres of corn are expected to be harvested this year, of which 20 million acres are of genetically engineered varieties. ____________________________________________MNL www.leapallergy.com


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## Mike NoLomotil (Jun 6, 2000)

SEPTEMBER 23, 01:29 EDT KRAFT RECALLS TACO SHELLSBy PHILIP BRASHER AP Farm Writer WASHINGTON (AP) ï¿½ Kraft Foods is recalling millions of packages of taco shells after tests confirmed they were made with a variety of genetically engineered corn that isn't approved for human consumption because of questions about whether it could cause allergic reactions. *The Food and Drug Administration said there was no "known threat" to human health from the corn. The shells are sold in stores under the Taco Bell brand. The recall does not apply to shells sold through Taco Bell restaurants, but Taco Bell Corp. said it will replace its shells next week. Taco Bell said it buys shells through the same Mexican processor that supplies Kraft, and tests for the corn have proven inconclusive. Taco Bell ordered the plant to switch suppliers for its corn flour. Tests commissioned by an anti-biotech environmental group found traces of the corn in taco shells that had been purchased in a suburban Washington store, and tests performed for Kraft at an independent lab showed the corn in ``multiple'' samples of the product, the company said. ``As soon as we learned that there might be an issue in the supply chain we purchased from, we have been guided by one priority, the safety of our products and their compliance with all regulatory requirements,'' said Betsy Holden, Kraft's chief executive. Kraft, a division of Philip Morris Inc., said it would discontinue production of the shells until it can be sure there is no more of the genetically engineered corn in the meal it buys. Kraft did not know how many packages were in homes, stores or in distribution channels, but a spokesman said it was safe to say the number is in the millions. Consumers should return the taco shells for full refunds at stores where they were purchased, Kraft said. The nationwide recall includes packages labeled Taco Bell Home Originals 12 Taco Shells, Taco Bell Home Originals 18 Taco Shells and Taco Bell Home Originals Taco Dinner (12 shells, sauce and seasoning). The corn, which contains a bacterium gene that makes it toxic to an insect pest, is produced by Aventis Corp. and goes under the trade name StarLink. It is one of the least-used of several varieties of biotech corn, and it is the only genetically engineered crop of any kind not approved for food use. Scientists advising the Environmental Protection Agency, which regulates pest-resistant crops, have been unable to agree on whether StarLink is safe for food use. Kraft said the government should no longer allow farmers to grow a biotech crop that isn't approved for human consumption. The taco shells were made for Kraft in Mexico by Sabritas Mexicali, a unit of PepsiCo Inc., with meal processed by Dallas-based Azteca Milling at a plant in Plainview, Texas. The Kraft recall was a setback to the biotechnology industry, which has been battling critics who claim the crops are a threat to human health and the environment. Anti-biotech groups said the Kraft recall showed that government regulation of the crops is inadequate, and food industry officials also said that improvements are needed. ``It is unclear how this occurred, but we must find out,'' said Carl Feldbaum, president of the Biotechnology Industry Organization. **FDA officials said they were continuing to investigate how the corn got into the taco shells. Earlier this year, the agency proposed a series of steps for increasing government scrutiny of biotech food, including requiring mandatory safety reviews of new products. The StarLink corn was grown on about 300,000 acres this year nationwide, or about 0.4 percent of the total U.S. corn acreage. ---------------------------* No KNOWN threat... Of course since GM foods are not tested on humans to see if the immune system in anybody will see it as a unknown organism since it is a new organism and may not be equivalent to the "sum" of the proteins in the source organisms.**At least we know it was not the Archer-Midland-Daniels senior execs already in fedral prison for committing various federal offenses.------------------------MNL____________________ www.leapallergy.com


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## Mike NoLomotil (Jun 6, 2000)

OCTOBER 14, 01:17 EDT BIOTECH CORN RECALL WIDENS.By PHILIP BRASHER AP Farm Writer Ronnie CumminsAP/Eric Risberg [25K]-------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON (AP) ï¿½ The recall of food products made with an unapproved variety of biotech corn is widening. Texas-based Mission Foods Co., the largest manufacturer of tortilla products, voluntarily recalled all of its tortillas, taco shells and snack chips made with yellow corn because the flour may contain gene-altered grain that is allowed only in animal feed. The company also said it would switch from yellow to white corn. The move followed a decision earlier this week by Safeway Inc. to remove all of Mission's taco shells from its stores and an earlier recall of taco shells by Kraft Foods. A sister company to Mission, Azteca Milling, announced it was recalling all of its flour made from yellow corn. Azteca supplied the flour for both the Mission Foods and Kraft taco shells. ``Our guiding concern has been to protect the safety of the consumer, our customers and our food products,'' said Steve Brunner, senior vice president of Mission Foods. The corn, known as StarLink, is not approved for human consumption because of questions about its potential to cause allergic reactions. Federal officials say the health risk is remote. Mission Foods is a subsidiary of Gruma S.A. of Monterrey, Mexico. Azteca Milling is a partnership of Gruma and Illinois-based Archer Daniels Midland Co. Mission's recall applies to all of its tortilla products, which are sold under both the Mission name and under a variety of private and generic labels. The volume was not immediately known, officials said, and Mission declined to disclose the names of supermarket chains that distribute its products. It will be up to the stores whether to tell shoppers about the recall, said Peter Pitts, a Mission spokesman. Mission makes about 10 percent of the taco shells sold nationwide, he said. Information about the recall was to be posted to the company's Web site, www.missionfoods.com. Azteca Milling officials said they initiated their recall of the flour because they were not confident of methods of testing for the StarLink corn. The company plans to mill only white corn. ``Because StarLink is a yellow corn, and we believe that we need to assure our customers and the public that products made with our flour are safe, the surest way to bolster confidence is to make products with only white corn,'' said Dan Lynn, Azteca's president. The corn that was detected in the Kraft and Mission taco shells is believed to have originated at Azteca's mill in Plainview, Texas. On Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency said that the seed's developer, Aventis CropScience, had agreed to cancel its license to sell the corn. Aventis already had suspended sales of the seed for next year's crop and agreed to reimburse the government for purchasing all of this year's harvest. The corn contains a bacterium gene that makes it toxic to an insect pest. StarLink is one of the least-used varieties of biotech corn and the only one not allowed in food. The Food and Drug Administration has been testing various food products for the corn, but officials have declined to discuss the results. Aventis was supposed to ensure that farmers kept StarLink corn separate from other varieties but failed to do so, government officials said. The corn was first detected in the Kraft and Mission taco shells during tests performed for a coalition of environmental groups opposed to biotech food. The StarLink corn has become an embarrassment to the biotech industry and food manufacturers, who have been fighting consumer resistance in Europe and Japan to genetically engineered crops. To date, there has been relatively little public concern in the United States. ``It's going to create ripple effects in terms of demands for tighter regulation'' of agricultural biotechnology, said Sano Shimoda, an analyst with BioScience Securities. -----------------------------NOTE: At present an indeterminant but substantial percentage of all processed yellow corn products (canned yellow corn, milled yellow corn meal products, corn syrup and extracts) are made up of unlabelled genertically Modified Bt Corn. While approved for sale, unlike the StarLink variety, these Bt corn organisms (ie: recombinant gene-bacteria DNA) have not been tested for potential delayed-hypersensitivity reactions at all, and Type I allergy reaction frequency is assumptive. Until such testing has been done, and Bt corn shown to be safe, particularly for patients known to suffer from conditions which have been linked to fod or cheimical reactivity we recommend avoiding these products and restricting corn intake to white corn.MNL____________________ www.leapallergy.com


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## Mike NoLomotil (Jun 6, 2000)

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## Mike NoLomotil (Jun 6, 2000)

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