EU Bans Bt10 Corn: NZ Urged to Take Action

EU Bans Bt10 Corn: NZ Authorities Urged to Take Action

Food Authorities in NZ and Australia must take action over illegal imports of unauthorised Bt 10 corn after the EU banned imports of products likely to contain it.

The untested and unapproved Bt 10 corn has been sold by mistake for the last four years by Syngenta. The US government has fined the company and the EU has now banned imports of the product, but food authorities in New Zealand have been dismissive of the problem and have refused to answer serious questions about the incident.

GE Free NZ in food and environment believes the official response here is wholly inadequate and shows an astonishing disregard for encouraging compliance with rules aimed at protecting public health.

"It is outrageous that the Food Safety Authority is refusing to be open about the situation here. They are saying they believe there is only a small problem but not answering the bigger questions," says Jon Carapiet from GE Free NZ in food and environment.

"What will stop this from happening in the future and what action will they take on Bt 10 now the EU has banned it?"

GE Free NZ in food and environment is calling on New Zealand authorities to urgently overhaul the current system and to impose a fine on the offending company as the US government has just done. Ends.

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