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Michigan | USDA, EPA AND FDA STATEMENT ON GENETICALLY ENGINEERED CORN
“EVENT 32”
February 22, 2008
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) are coordinating efforts following notification by Dow
AgroSciences that the company detected extremely low levels of an unregistered
genetically engineered (GE) pesticide product known as a plant-incorporated protectant
(PIP) in 3 of its commercial GE hybrid corn seed lines. The unregistered product produces
proteins that are identical to a registered product. USDA, EPA and FDA have concluded
that there are no public health, food or feed safety concerns. Additionally, USDA and EPA
have determined that the unregistered GE corn PIP poses no plant pest or environmental
concerns.
The unregistered GE corn PIP, known as Event 32, was found in some Herculex®
RW and Herculex® XTRA Rootworm Protection products. Seed containing low levels of
the unregistered Event 32 was inadvertently sold to farmers by Dow’s affiliate Mycogen
Seeds and planted in 2006 and 2007. EPA and USDA previously approved Herculex®
Rootworm Protection products containing a closely related PIP, Event 22. These products
are also approved for use in several foreign countries.
Through careful analysis, EPA determined that the introduced proteins produced by
Event 32 are identical to those approved for Event 22, and therefore they are covered by an
existing tolerance exemption (EPA food safety clearance). FDA has concluded there are
no food or feed safety concerns because EPA has determined that the introduced proteins in
Event 32 are safe and because corn containing Event 32 is present in food or feed, if at all,
only at low levels. In addition, APHIS’ scientific analysis concluded that Event 32 poses
no plant pest or environmental concerns.
The 2008 U.S. corn crop will not be affected. APHIS took steps to ensure Dow
recalled all affected seed that was shipped to dealers for the 2008 planting season. APHIS
and EPA are coordinating on the investigation of potential violations under their respective
regulatory acts.
Corn Event 32 was found at extremely low levels—approximately 3 seeds per
1,000—in affected Herculex seed products. Dow reported that in 2007 approximately
53,000 acres of the affected products were planted in the United States. Total U.S. corn
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acreage in 2007 was more than 93 million acres. Taking into account, the low levels of
Event 32 in the Herculex seed products as well as the very small proportion of these seeds
that were planted, any amount of Event 32 in harvested corn would be negligible. It is
estimated that no more than 0.0002 percent (two ten–thousandths of one percent) of the
2007 corn crop may have contained Event 32.
For more information on the respective roles of USDA APHIS, EPA, and FDA in
the federal regulation of GE plants, see the United States Agencies Unified Biotechnology
Web site at http://usbiotechreg.nbii.gov/.
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Edited by j doc 2/22/2008 23:00
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Maybe this will stablize corn prices - like StarLink
