Japan, the largest international buyer of U.S. wheat, has canceled its tender to buy U.S. white wheat after the discovery of a test strain of Monsanto’s genetically modified wheat had been found on an Oregon wheat farmer’s land, Reuters reports. Monsanto tested the Roundup-resistant wheat from 1998 to 2005, but it was never approved for consumption. The agriculture company abandoned the project due to international rejection of genetically modified (GM) cereals. Japan and other Asian countries remain skeptical of GM foods, and Japan has approved only a select number of GM products for human consumption, including corn, but not wheat. The GM wheat was discovered when an Oregon wheat farmer tried spraying an undesired patch with Monsanto’s herbicide, Roundup, but the weedkiller — to the farmer’s surprise — didn’t do the job. The farmer then contacted Oregon State University researchers who determined the wheat contained genes from Monsanto’s abandoned wheat project. The crop otherwise consisted of natural wheat. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is now investigating whether the GM wheat in Oregon is an isolated issue or the genes have spread to other crops. There is no scientific evidence that suggests GM wheat is unfit for consumption. Monsanto’s strains of genetically modified corn and soybeans now dominate those two markets.
The News Desk team at Food Safety News covers breaking developments, regulatory updates, recalls, and key topics shaping food safety today. These articles are produced collaboratively by our editorial staff.
The food agency in the Philippines has revealed the results of stricter enforcement measures in the first half of this year.
The country's Food and Drug Administration faced
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The health risk posed by meat processed by a company under investigation in the Netherlands is “negligible,” according to an assessment.
The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA)
The Food and Drug Administration uses import alerts to enforce U.S. food safety regulations for food from foreign countries. The agency updates and modifies the alerts as needed.
Recent
Ukrop's Homestyle Foods of Richmond, VA, is recalling 22,880 pounds of baked spaghetti and chicken cobbler products that may be contaminated with foreign material, specifically metal slivers,
The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing a public health alert for Curry Chicken Salad because of concerns that the product may be contaminated with
529 Commerce LLC of Parkland, FL, is recalling 3,860 units of its 4 ounce and 12 ounce packages of its Rooted in Rare brand Aquafaba Powder because the product
In relation to an outbreak of E. Coli infections, the Publix grocery store chain is recalling organic GreenWise imported frozen berries.
The outbreak has sickened 12 people in Florida and
