U.S. probes Taco Bell's alleged use of biotech corn

In this story: 7 boxes of taco shells tested positive Corn variety may be allergen RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The U.S. government said Monday it was investigating a strain of bioengineered corn not approved for human food that may have crept into Taco Bell shells sold in grocery stores.

News about the alleged unlicensed use of the corn variety in human food comes at a time when the Clinton administration is finalizing guidelines to use in approving new varieties of bio-engineered foods.

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The corn at issue contains a protein that government scientists said was safe for animals to eat, but could be an allergen for humans.

Regulators said that, if they determined the unapproved corn was in taco shells or other human food, the products would be immediately pulled off the market.

"This product is not licensed in any shape or form to be in products that human beings eat. If we find there was any infraction, then we're going to come down very very hard on those responsible," said Dave Cohen, a spokesman for the Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA and the Food and Drug Administration, which share authority over gene-spliced foods, are jointly investigating.

Before the government considers any recall, it must first confirm if the unapproved corn is in Taco Bell shells, as alleged by the anti-biotech green group, Friends of the Earth.

"If we do find this particular protein has been found in human food, we would immediately move to take the product off the market," an FDA official said.

A spokeswoman for Taco Bell, which is owned by Tricon Global Restaurants Inc., was not immediately available for comment. The boxes of taco shells sold under the Taco Bell brand were produced by Kraft Foods Inc, a unit of Philip Morris Co. Inc. , according to officials.

Friends of the Earth and other members of the Genetically Engineered Food Alert coalition claim a 7-box sample of Taco Bell taco shells sold in a suburban Washington grocery store showed the presence of a Bt corn variety approved in 1998 for use in animal feed only.

The gene-spliced corn variety StarLink was developed by Aventis SA as part of the company's offerings of Bt corn. Bt corn and cotton seeds are spliced with a naturally occurring plant pesticide known as bacillus thuringiensis, which is deadly for the destructive European corn borer.

Friends of the Earth said it gave the taco shell sample to an independent laboratory, which concluded the sample contained at least 1 percent of StarLink corn.

Some 23 other food items, including breakfast cereals and frozen dinners, were also tested, but the results were inconclusive, said Larry Bohlen, a spokesman for Friends of the Earth. The green group plans to next test taco shells from Taco Bell restaurants for the unapproved variety of corn.

No illnesses have been reported from the taco shells, in part because consumers are unaware that the product contains a potential allergen, the group said.

"This raises disturbing questions about the adequacy of the U.S. regulatory system for genetically modified foods," said Jane Rissler of the Union of Concerned Scientists, a member of the anti-biotech coalition. "The FDA has yet to require a single test for safety."

The StarLink corn variety was approved in 1998 only for use in animal foods because it contains a protein known as Cry9C, according to Stephen Johnson, assistant EPA administrator for pesticides. Scientists have blocked allowing the protein into human food for fear it might be an allergen.

"In the case of Cry9C, it is not readily digested. That's why we have not licensed this for human food consumption and have sought outside scientific opinion on whether this is a potential allergen," Johnson said.

All other varieties of Bt corn do not contain this protein, and have been approved for human food.

The Biotechnology Industry Organization said more tests were needed to confirm the StarLink corn was in human food.

"These are very preliminary tests from a firm that has had in the past a lot of false positives," said BIO spokeswoman Lisa Dry, referring to Genetic ID, the Iowa lab that performed the tests.

"The corn should not be in the human food chain," she added. "If anyone has breached their agreements or obligations, we would take it very seriously."

The FDA is due to release new regulations for genetically altered foods this month. The agency is widely expected to require food makers to have mandatory consultations -- instead of the current voluntary ones -- with FDA scientists before a biotech food can be marketed.

Several green groups have criticized the U.S. government for not requiring strict safety testing and labels on all biotech foods. Seed companies and agribusiness contend that gene-spliced corn, soybeans, tomatoes and other foods undergo years of tests and safety checks before being released.

In April, a National Academy of Sciences study cautiously endorsed the safety of biofoods, but urged the U.S. agencies that regulate them to do more to protect the environment and to monitor long-term health effects.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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U.S. Food and Drug Administration -- Bioengineered Foods
Genetically Engineered Food Alert

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