"gm crops" news and stories

China has officially given all 43 varieties of Heinz baby food products the clear from GM influence.

Greenpeace had claimed that Heinz baby cereal products designed, I think, specifically for the Chinese market, contained genetically modified ingredients. Heinz denied the claim but the Ministry of Agriculture in China decided to put the products through a series of tests to find out.

The official Xinhua News Agency has reported that the products and their raw ingredients were not made from genetically modified crops. Such foods are not yet approved for consumption in China as they continue researching the effect of modifications on agriculture in general.

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A report was issued this week by the auditor of the US Department of Agriculture revealing the department's failure to properly control and regulate the trials of genetically modified crops. "In many cases, the report said, regulators didn't even know where the field trials were." Numerous violations were noted, such as not inspecting sites and failing to ensure that the trial crops with genetically modified genes were destroyed after the test was complete. This increases the risk that these genes may have been released into the environment. 

The release of the report followed the announcement that two of Monsanto Company's engineered corn traits had received final clearance from the USDA. One of the corn traits protects from a pest know as rootworm, as well as providing weed control around the crops, while the other trait combines the first with protection against a corn borer pest. Receiving final clearance for deregulation means that Monsanto can now market its products at state level and in foreign markets

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