Contaminated US rice has been found all over Europe, including in the UK and Germany

Bayer's illegal GM rice continues to inflict damage on US rice industry

In yet another blow to the US rice industry, the world's largest rice processing company, Ebro Puleva [1], which controls 30 per cent of the EU rice market, has confirmed to Greenpeace that it has stopped all imports of rice from the USA to the EU due to the threat of contamination by genetically modified (GM) rice.

The move follows a string of scandals, with illegal GM contamination found in rice products all over Europe. In January 2006, a strain of Bayer's GM rice, which was not approved for human consumption, was found in US rice intended for export. As a result of Bayer's recklessness, the global food industry is facing massive costs associated with this contamination, including testing costs, product recalls, brand damage, import bans and cancelled imports and contracts.

In a letter to Greenpeace [2], the Chairman of Ebro Puleva states: "We regret that US rice is facing a problem with GM rice and decided to stop any imports of US rice since August 2006."

Ebro Puleva has also indicated that it will not consider purchasing from the US until the situation is under control. Instead, the company will purchase rice from other countries, with the exception of China, which continues to have problems with GM contamination of its rice.

"By imposing a blanket ban on rice imports from the US, Ebro Puleva has acknowledged how real and costly the risk of GM contamination is," pointed out Jeremy Tager, GM campaigner, Greenpeace International. "With GM now as uneconomic as it is unacceptable, governments in countries that grow or import GM must stop placing farmers, consumers, the environment and industry at such high risk."

At least three multi-million dollar class action lawsuits have been filed by US rice farmers against Bayer CropScience already, as farmers struggle to protect their livelihoods [3]. Ebro Puleva has said they expect to bring legal actions against Bayer as well.

The strain of Bayer's illegal GM LL601 rice was first detected in rice intended for export from the US earlier in 2006. This variety has not been approved for human consumption anywhere in the world. It has only been grown in field trials that ended in 2001, and yet in September 2006, testing commissioned by Greenpeace and then by various European government agencies showed a broad variety of products on supermarket shelves in Europe had been contaminated by Bayer's illegal GM rice. Following the Greenpeace exposé a leading German supermarket chain Edeka announced that they would cease selling all US long grain rice. A number of European retailers, millers and processors have followed suit.

"It is now time for governments to respond strongly as well. They cannot leave enforcement of food safety laws to industry alone. We urge the EU to enforce its laws more vigorously and ensure that all member states comply, particularly those that have thus far refused to enforce EU law," concluded Jeremy Tager.

For further information, please contact:
Greenpeace Press Office: 0207 865 8255
Graham Thompson, GM Campaigner, Greenpeace: 0207 865 8293

Notes for editors:
[1] Ebro Puleva, with a presence in 40 countries, is the first supplier of rice as a raw material for the major companies of the European food sector. It has taken over and now owns Riviana Foods, Inc, the leading company on the US rice market, with extensive distribution networks in the United States and Central America; Kraft Foods' rice business in Germany, Austria and Denmark; and Panzani, one of the leading food enterprises in France. http://www.ebropuleva.com/ep/en/acerca_ebro/negocioarroz.jsp

[2] The letter from the Chairman is available online.

Testing for GM rice in China

Beijing - Greenpeace has discovered illegal genetically modified rice in Guangzhou, the largest city in Southern China, raising fears that the untested GM rice is spreading out of control and has entered the food chain in major Chinese cities.

The new evidence was revealed only weeks after Greenpeace exposed the growing of illegal GM rice in Hubei Province.(1) Chinese officials announced they would conduct an investigation into the scandal but it appears that no action has yet been taken - meanwhile contamination appears to be spreading.

Greenpeace campaigner Sze Pang Cheung urged the Chinese government to take immediate action: "Immediate recall actions are needed if we are to prevent consumers from exposure to risks of untested GM rice. There are strong warning signs that this GM Bt rice could cause allergenic reactions, as it did when tested on mice."(2)

Greenpeace researchers collected samples from rice wholesalers in Guangzhou, and two samples tested positive as GM rice in an independent laboratory in Germany.

The news is likely to raise concerns among rice importing countries. "Japan, Korea and the EU commission have already raised concerns with the Chinese government about the possible contamination of Chinese rice exports following the discovery of GM rice in markets in Hubei province," Sze said. "It's increasingly clear that GM rice is not wanted by the international community."

"In March this year, the world's largest rice trader, Riceland, issued a statement calling for GM rice trials in the US to be stopped due to consumer rejection of GM foods," Sze added.

Concerns over GM rice are also rising in China. An opinion poll released by Greenpeace in March showed 73% of Chinese shoppers in Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai would choose non-GM rice over GM rice.

The new research by Greenpeace has also revealed conclusive evidence of the source of the contamination.

"Some GM rice seeds that were sold in the markets were advertised as a product of New Technology Company of Huazhong Agriculture University," Sze said. "This company is owned by the same University that is responsible for field trials of GM rice in Hubei."

Greenpeace estimates that up to 29 tonnes of GM rice seeds have been sold in Hubei this year, and if no recall action is taken, the seeds could produce up to 14,500 tonnes of GM rice when harvested.

"Greenpeace is calling on the Chinese government to take urgent action to recall the unapproved GM rice from the fields and food chain, and to take immediate action against the researchers who are responsible for playing Russian roulette with our staple food crop," Sze concluded.

For more information contact:
Sze Pang Cheung, GE Campaigner, Greenpeace China +86 13911460884 (Beijing)
Natalia Truchi, Media Officer, Greenpeace China, mobile +86 139 10098563 (Beijing)

Notes to Editors:

1.In April a Greenpeace research team discovered unapproved GE rice being sold and grown illegally in Hubei province. An international laboratory in Germany found 19 samples tested positive as GE Bt rice - which is genetically engineered to produce an inbuilt pesticide.

2.Moreno-Fierros, L., García, N., Gutiérrez, R., López-Revilla, R. & Vázquez-Padrón, R.I.2000. Intranasal, rectal and intraperitoneal immunization with protoxin Cry1Ac from Bacillus thuringiensis induces compartmentalized serum, intestinal, vaginal and pulmonary immune responses in Balb/c mice. Microbes and Infectection 2: 885-890 and references therein.

Rice growing in Hubei province, China

An illegal strain of GM rice grown in China and not approved for human consumption could have been imported into the UK and entered the food supply.

Greenpeace is calling for an urgent, international product recall after uncovering the illegal release of the rice in China. The tainted food staple, which is genetically engineered to produce an inbuilt pesticide, may have contaminated Chinese rice exports. As one of the largest rice importers in Europe, the UK buys hundreds of tons of rice from China every year.

A Greenpeace research team uncovered the GM rice being sold and grown illegally in the central Chinese province of Hubei. The Greenpeace team were first alerted to the scandal after conducting a web-search and discovering the illegal rice for sale on the internet. After collecting samples of rice seed, unmilled and milled rice, testing by international laboratory Genescan confirmed the presence of GM DNA.

As a major exporter of rice, it is expected that the contamination scandal could have significant trade and market impacts. In 2001, a similar case in the USA sparked a $1billion product recall after a strain of GM corn illegally entered the food chain.

The Chinese GM rice is linked to potentially causing allergic reactions in humans. Yet despite inducing allergic responses in mice, there has been no human food safety testing of this strain of GM rice, known as Bt rice.

Sarah North, GM campaigner for Greenpeace, said:"This dodgy rice could have serious consequences for human health and the environment. And it could already be on UK supermarket shelves.

"This is just another sorry example of how the GM industry is out of control. A small group of rogue scientists have taken the worlds most important staple food crop and are subjecting the public to a scandalous experiment."

Further Information
Contact the Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255 or Sarah North on 020 7865 8163.

For a copy of the Genescan test results, maps of where the GM contamination is in China and summaries of Chinese rice exports by country, contact the Greenpeace press office.