Tainted rice route remains mystery
Published: Oct. 6, 2007 at 4:32 PM
WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Agriculture officials say documents destroyed several years ago might have helped determine how the U.S. supply of long-grain rice became tainted.
After 14 months of investigation, the Agriculture Department said Friday it could not determine how a variety of unapproved genetically engineered rice entered the nation's supply, The Washington Post reported Saturday.
Clues might have been found in routinely destroyed documents, agency officials said, recommending firms retain maps and records of where they plant experimental crops.
Because the investigation was inconclusive, no action will be taken against Bayer CropScience, whose gene-altered rice entered the supply, the Post reported.
The contamination -- by experimental genes that made the rice pesticide-tolerant -- caused countries worldwide to reject imports of U.S. long-grain rice, while farmers, scientists and environmental activists called for a strenuous review of gene-altered crops.
Some countries again are accepting U.S. rice if it is tested, but the European Union and Russia continue to buy rice elsewhere, costing U.S. agriculture hundreds of millions of dollars a year, the Post reported.
After 14 months of investigation, the Agriculture Department said Friday it could not determine how a variety of unapproved genetically engineered rice entered the nation's supply, The Washington Post reported Saturday.
Clues might have been found in routinely destroyed documents, agency officials said, recommending firms retain maps and records of where they plant experimental crops.
Because the investigation was inconclusive, no action will be taken against Bayer CropScience, whose gene-altered rice entered the supply, the Post reported.
The contamination -- by experimental genes that made the rice pesticide-tolerant -- caused countries worldwide to reject imports of U.S. long-grain rice, while farmers, scientists and environmental activists called for a strenuous review of gene-altered crops.
Some countries again are accepting U.S. rice if it is tested, but the European Union and Russia continue to buy rice elsewhere, costing U.S. agriculture hundreds of millions of dollars a year, the Post reported.
© 2007 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
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