By
Marc Kaufman
A genetically engineered variety of
corn that caused massive recalls of taco shells last
year has spread further through the food supply than had
been thought and is present in a much wider range of processed
foods.
The corn, known as StarLink,
was found in new categories of corn products such as
-
corn bread,
-
polenta
-
and hush puppies
in tests conducted by the company that
developed the corn. StarLink was never approved for human
consumption because of concerns it might cause dangerous
allergic reactions.
The discovery of more corn products
with even trace levels of StarLink raises questions about
whether food recalls may be necessary again and whether
foreign countries opposed to genetically engineered crops
may boycott U.S. food products on a increased scale.
The Japanese government, for instance,
made the importing of corn products with any traces of StarLink
into a potentially criminal act early this month.
Aventis referred to these possibilities
yesterday when it reported the results of its testing to
the Environmental Protection Agency. The company had previously
asked the agency for a retroactive exemption to allow the
presence of StarLink in food, but yesterday amended its
request to allow for as much as 20 parts per billion of
the modified corn.
The company said it tested 12 representative
products made with yellow corn, which together make up about
90 percent of the products made with the corn. Six of
those tested were found to have detectable levels
of a protein found in StarLink known as Cry9C, the company
said.
Aventis also said that traces of the
modified corn are likely to be found in many yellow corn
products for the foreseeable future. Officials said that
a "commonsense solution" was needed to deal with
that reality.
But environmental and food safety groups
have argued against granting Aventis any exemption, especially
before conclusions are reached about whether it can cause
food allergies. They have also opposed any kind of retroactive
approval, saying that it would help Aventis but not the
American public.
In December, a scientific advisory panel
to the EPA concluded there was a "medium likelihood"
that StarLink protein is a potential allergen. But
it reported that because of the low levels of StarLink in
the American diet, there was a "low probability"
of allergic reactions.
Despite the low risk, the genetically
modified corn has become a regulatory and now trade nightmare
because it was never supposed to be in the food chain at
all. The corn was engineered to produce a protein that repels
a major corn pest, the European corn borer, and was approved
for animal feed only. But precautions developed to keep
it out of the human food chain failed.
Washington
Post
April 24, 2001; Page A03