- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ten
U.S. food industry groups on Thursday urged the government to halt "bio-pharm"
crops until it implemented stricter regulations to prevent accidental contamination
of other crops.
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- Concerns about experimental crops grown to produce pharmaceuticals
arose in November after a Texas company was accused by the government of
mishandling in Nebraska corn spliced with a gene to make a drug to treat
diabetes.
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- Several U.S. consumer advocacy groups have expressed
worries about the potential long-term impacts of all bioengineered crops
on the environment and human health. There has also been widespread concern
in Europe over such crops.
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- The U.S. food industry has been an outspoken advocate
for biotech corn, soybeans and other crops designed to protect growing
plants from pests and weeds. But the industry has been less enthusiastic
about "bio-pharm" crops.
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- The Grocery Manufactures of America, the Food Marketing
Institute, the National Restaurant Association and seven other food groups
said they feared unapproved biotech pharmaceutical crops could seep into
the food supply and undermine consumer confidence.
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- "To minimize the possible risks, a clear system
of regulatory enforcement and liability needs to be in place," said
Mary Sophos, a vice president of the grocery manufacturers group.
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- "Until then, no permits for new field trials or
for commercialization should be issued by because there is no room for
trial and error," she added.
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- The food industry groups outlined their views in documents
submitted to the Food and Drug Administration, which is developing industry
guidelines with the U.S. Agriculture Department on planting medicine crops.
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- Companies should be allowed to grow food plants for medical
purposes only when there is no better alternative, the groups said.
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- The federal government should also require farmers to
use separate land and equipment when handling experimental crops. Tests
must be readily available to detect any contamination of traditional food
crops, the food industry said.
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- The USDA in December ordered ProdiGene Inc., a small
biotech firm, to spend an estimated $2.8 million to buy and destroy some
500,000 bushels of soybeans accidentally contaminated with a small amount
of an experimental corn plant engineered to produce trypsin for diabetes.
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- In a Reuters straw poll of 340 growers last month, nearly
half of U.S. farmers said they were undecided or opposed to growing pharmaceutical
crops.
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- http://www.connectotel.com/gmfood/re070203.txt
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