StarLink corn, the genetically engineered yellow corn made by Franco-German conglomerate Aventis Corp. that triggered the recall of more than 300 food items in the US last year, is once again making national headlines. This time, the corn has become the target of another investigation on the eve of its potential approval for human consumption.

The first week of July, the grocery stores Food Lion and Kash n' Karry began a voluntary nationwide recall of their store brand white corn tortilla chips due to the identification of genetic material from the modified corn in an 11 ounce bag of chips purchased in Florida.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) identified the genetic material in the corn chips while investigating a complaint made by Florida resident Dr. Keith Finger, who said he alerted the FDA to the possible contamination after experiencing a mild allergic reaction to the white corn chips.

The FDA findings represent the first time that white corn products have been identified with the yellow corn variety, which Aventis genetically engineered to incorporate a protein designed to make the corn resistant to insects.

In fact, last year many manufacturers of corn chips and tortilla products switched to white corn to eliminate the risk of introducing the modified corn into their products.

StarLink presently is only approved for animal feed.

When StarLink corn initially was approved in 1998, its use was limited to animal feed because the protein it contained had many of the same characteristics associated with other allergy-causing food proteins.

The revelation that its genetic material was found in the white corn products drew immediate criticism from environmental groups.

The genetic material could have gotten into the white corn product through a variety of different scenarios rather than cross-pollination, including the simple introduction of some yellow corn into the batches of white corn used to make the chips.

Reuters July 6, 2001