Dutch food authority to trace GM corn load

The corn, which was highlighted at the weekend by
environmental organization Greenpeace
, is used to produce animal feed. The Dutch
government said Tuesday that it will order its own tests and may consider
further steps on the basis of the outcome.

“Until the feed is eaten the
shipment can always be found,” a government spokesman was quoted as saying. At
the weekend, Greenpeace reported that illegal shipment had been found through
samples taken from an shipload of corn that was unloaded in Rotterdam port on
April 10.

A spokesman for the European Commission, the EU’s executive
arm, said on Tuesday that the Dutch authorities had to return the shipment to
the United States, if Greenpeace’s findings proved correct. On Monday afternoon,
it became clear that in addition to the illegal genetically modified corn, the
shipment also contained a cocktail of at least seven different varieties of
genetically modified corn. A second batch on the ship which was supposed to be
free of genetically modified corn was found to contain excessive levels of at
least two variants, according to the report.

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