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U.S. ministry to check animal feed for GM corn

Kyodo News

TOKYO Dec. 8 Kyodo - The U.S. government has agreed to check Japan-bound
shipments of animal feed for the presence of a genetically modified
variety of corn that Tokyo has banned, the Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries Ministry said Friday.

The ministry and the U.S. Department of Agriculture hope to decide on
procedures to check for StarLink corn by the end of this month, ministry
officials said.

StarLink corn contains a gene that creates a germ-killing substance said
to cause allergic reactions in some humans. The United States is the
only country to produce StarLink and the only one to approve it for use
in animal feed.

The corn was found in food products on Japanese supermarket shelves in
October.

Japan's Health and Welfare Ministry and the U.S. farm department have
already agreed that all corn used for food products will be checked in
the U.S. before shipment to Japan.

The U.S. farm department was initially reluctant to check animal feed as
well since StarLink is approved for use in animal feed in the U.S.

According to the Japanese farm ministry, Mexico, South Korea and Taiwan
have also asked the U.S. to conduct pre-shipment inspections of animal
feed for the presence of StarLink.

Of the roughly 16.5 million tons of corn that Japan imports each year,
12 million tons are used for animal feed, of which 95% comes from the
U.S.

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