RP seeks uninterrupted delivery of GM-free rice from US

WASHINGTON — The Philippines will issue a tender in the next few weeks for the delivery in early 2007 of up to 60,000 metric tons of rice under Title 1of US Public Law 480 to ensure an uninterrupted delivery of the commodity following an uproar over the discovery of a genetically modified (GM) strain in US rice stocks.

Philippine Embassy Agriculture attaché Victoriano Leviste said the US Department of Agriculture has allowed the Philippines to rollover its $20 million rice purchase this year under Title 1 of PL480 to 2007 because of the unexpected contamination of US rice stocks.

He said a new tender is needed immediately in the light of widespread damage to infrastructure and agriculture caused in recent months by four super typhoons — "Milenyo," "Paeng," "Queenie," and "Reming." The typhoons left thousands of people dead or missing.

A Philippine delegation of biotechnology regulators visited Washington last week to discuss the contamination problem with USDA officials and review the US regulatory process.

It is not known how the US long-grain rice stock was contaminated with traces of LLRice601, an experimental, gene-altered rice strain. The contamination ignited a debate over the adequacy of US monitoring of biotech food.

Bayer CorpScience developed LLRice601 but abandoned it in 2001 in the face of opposition from the food industry.

The Philippines issued invitations for bids in September after the contamination was announced but it required guarantee from sellers that the rice was free of genetically modified (GM) or genetically engineered (GE) contaminants.

However, as no supplier could make such a guarantee in the absence of a standard seed-testing protocol for detecting Liberty Link (LL) traits, the tender was canceled.

Despite US assurances the contaminated rice poses no threat to human or animal health Japan and the European Union have either banned US long-grain imports or pulled them off the shelves.

Leviste said the amount of LLRice601 found in US rice stocks is roughly equivalent to three to six grains in every 10,000 grains. — Jose Katigbak/ STAR Washington Bureau