Fool Me Rice

Unapproved GM rice from China pops up in European stores

A variety of genetically modified rice from China has made it into Asian specialty stores and Asian restaurants in the E.U. -- and the Europeans ain't too happy about it. A new report from Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth claims that some rice noodles imported into France, Germany, and Britain contain a strain of GM rice which is not approved for human consumption in the E.U. -- or in China, for that matter. Activists worry that Cry1Ac, the appropriately named compound present in the Chinese GM rice, could cause allergic reactions, though there have been no reports yet of anaphylactic events. For its part, China denies that its GM rice could have reached European markets. Just a week ago, Europe tightened requirements on imports of U.S. long-grain rice because of possible GM contamination. "This latest illegal GM contamination scandal shows that the biotech industry cannot be trusted. How many more foods around the world have been contaminated by unlicensed GM crops?" asked Clare Oxborrow of Friends of the Earth.