US Food Groups Urge Halt To 'Bio-Pharm' Crops

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US Food Groups Urge Halt To 'Bio-Pharm' Crops

By Randy Fabi

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

" 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.

 

" 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.

 

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.

 

Companies should be allowed to grow food plants for medical purposes

only when there is no better alternative, the groups said.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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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