China Rejects 60,000 Tons Of Genetically Modified U.S. Corn

November 29, 2013 by UPI - United Press International, Inc.

BEIJING (UPI) — China rejected 60,000 tons of U.S. corn because the crops had been genetically modified in violation of regulations, Beijing’s quality watchdog said Friday.
Authorities in the southern port city of Shenzhen, just north of Hong Kong, found a variety of insect-resistant transgenic corn within more than 60,000 metric tons of maize imported from the United States, a spokesman for China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said.
The agency is in charge of entry-exit commodity inspection and import-export food safety certification and accreditation.
The insect-resistant MIR162 transgenic corn was developed by Syngenta Seeds Inc. to provide growers with maize hybrids that are resistant to feeding damage caused by moths, butterflies and other lepidopteran insects.
MIR162 is not authorized by China’s agricultural department, spokesman Chen Xitong said.
The agency notified U.S. authorities of the event, seeking Washington to order the responsible U.S. corn exporters to strengthen inspection and quarantine of corn exports to China to conform with Chinese law and regulations, Chen said.
The official Xinhua News Agency, which reported the rejection, did not say which authorities the agency notified or from where the corn came.
The U.S. Commerce Department in Washington and Syngenta Seeds in Greensboro, N.C., did not immediately respond when contacted by email and phone by United Press International for a comment on Beijing’s action.
Syngenta is a subsidiary of Syngenta AG, a global Swiss specialized-chemicals company that also markets pesticides.

Filed Under: Business

http://personalliberty.com/2013/11/2...fied-u-s-corn/