London: Amidst global rise in the price of rice, the European Commission has adopted an emergency measure from today following reports that Chinese rice imports were allegedly tainted with an illegally genetically modified strain. The measure, which comes into effect from today, requires consignments of rice products from China to be accompanied by an analytical report to demonstrate that the product does not contain the strain identified as Bt63 .
European Union member states will also be required to take appropriate measures, including random sampling and analysis, for products already on the market. The Bt63 experimental variety of rice, which allegedly produces an insecticide, has not been approved for human consumption. There are fears it could cause an allergic reaction. Britain's Food Standards Agency (FSA) issued an alert to food manufacturers and trading standards departments, saying any contaminated rice products must be withdrawn from sale immediately.
In 2005,a Greenpeace investigation found that research institutes and seed companies in China had been illegally selling unapproved GM rice seeds to farmers. Further testing indicated that the whole food chain had been contaminated, most recently affecting Heinz baby food in China.
