Administration Kept Mum About Sale of Unapproved Modified Corn

The scientific journal Nature published a story revealing that a Swiss-based company, Syngenta, had accidentally sold genetically modified corn seed to U.S. farmers that was not approved by the USDA. The company, whose seed operation is in Golden Valley, Minn., had informed the EPA, the Agriculture Dept. and the FDA that their approved seed, Bt 11, had been inadvertently mixed with Bt 10, which is not on the approved list. According to Common Dreams News Center the federal government had known about the mix-up for three months and had avoided a public disclosure.
The issue here is why the government chose to keep this a secret. Those who support the use of genetically modified organisms feel that the secrecy sends the wrong message to the public. Syngenta’s Web site openly addresses the issue, disclosing that they initiated studies to determine if there were any human health or environmental concerns. They received confirmation from both the EPA and the FDA that the small addition of Bt 10 was not a health hazard.
There is no official announcement from the U.S.governmental agencies on any of their respective Web sites, however.