The United States Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday, May 29 (Thursday, May 30 Japan time), that unapproved genetically modified wheat was discovered in a farm in Oregon, a northwestern state of the U.S. The wheat found in Oregon is resistant to herbicides. “We are taking this situation very seriously,” said Michael Firko of USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, adding that they have launched an investigation to determine the circumstances, such as the range of its growth, in detail. 90% of wheat grown in Oregon is exported to other countries including Japan. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, which imports wheat through government-controlled trade, decided to suspend purchase and sales of wheat produced in Oregon for the time being.
According to the announcement, the detected wheat plants were the same wheat variety that a major U.S. biotechnology firm Monsanto was authorized to field test from 1998 to 2005 in 16 states including Oregon, Washington which is adjacent to Oregon and other major wheat-growing districts such as Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado. There are, however, no genetically modified wheat varieties approved for sale or in commercial production in the U.S., the announcement said.
A farmer in Oregon was trying to kill wheat using herbicides when he found several plants survived, and testing by USDA laboratories revealed that they were genetically engineered wheat.
USDA officials said they have not received any reports that the unapproved wheat has entered the commercial market. They also stressed that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Food and Drug Administration has determined that there is no health risk to humans from such wheat. “Our first priority is to as quickly as possible determine the circumstances and extent of the situation and how it happened,” Firko said. “We are collaborating with state, industry and trading partners on this situation and are committed to providing timely information about our findings.”
<Japan halts imports of wheat from Oregon>
The discovery of unapproved gene-altered wheat in the United States prompted Japan’s agricultural ministry on Thursday, May 30, to suspend imports of Oregon-produced wheat. The ministry is in touch with U.S. officials to receive more facts about this situation from their investigation, and prospects for resuming imports remain unclear.
Regarding wheat produced in Oregon, the ministry cancelled tenders to import 120,000 tons of soft white wheat, used mainly for feed, and 25,000 tons of western white wheat used for cookies and cakes. It will also stop sales of 110,000 tons of soft white wheat and 170,000 tons of western white wheat currently under shipment from the U.S. Japan imports 3 million tons of wheat used for food from the U.S. annually, out of which 800,000 tons are western white wheat.
The ministry requested the U.S. government to establish an inspection system as soon as possible. “We cannot resume imports unless a proper inspection system is made,” said an official of the ministry’s grain trade and operation division. “We have two to three month supply of wheat stored up domestically, so we don’t have to worry about tight supply for the time being.”
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare is checking on the details such as whether the unapproved wheat has entered the commercial food supply. Since the details are yet uncertain, an official of the ministry’s inspection and safety division said the Japanese government does not plan to take any immediate measures to determine the safety of wheat. If there is a possibility of unapproved wheat entering the country, the ministry will conduct genetically modified organisms detection testing at its point of entry to avoid the inflow of such wheat.
<Reactions from Japanese trading companies, flour milling firms and consumers>
Hearing the news that genetically engineered wheat was detected in Oregon, Japanese importers and users of U.S.-produced wheat expressed concerns over future prospects of imported wheat supply and food security, and urged the governments of Japan and the U.S. to take appropriate measures immediately.
They fear that the unapproved genetically modified wheat could enter the Japanese market. “If such wheat is found out to be widely distributed, we might consider temporarily stopping handling of the product,” an official of a major trading firm said.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries excluded western white wheat, a soft flour brand produced mainly in Oregon, from an import tender on Thursday, May 30. The brand is widely used to make cakes and cookies, and is in constant demand. Flour milling firms say the government should investigate the circumstances as soon as possible, worrying that if the ministry continues to cancel tenders, they will run out of stock and will be in a serious situation.
Some speculate on the intention behind USDA’s sudden announcement of the news. “Maybe they are thinking about attracting public attention on genetically modified wheat to seek a chance to remove a ban on sales of such wheat,” an official of a flour milling firm said.
Mariko Sano, secretary general of Japan Housewives’ Association, is shocked to hear the news. “This is unbelievable. I wonder how genetically modified seed was able to escape into a crop field,” Sano said. “The case could not have come to light if the farmer did not recognize the plant. The governments must come up with fundamental resolutions to this problem.”
Sano also said that as the government pushes forth market liberalization under the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks, consumers will become less certain about what they are eating and where their food come from. “Because more children are suffering from food allergies, we have the right to know the origin of food products,” she stressed.
(May 31, 2013)