Altered Corn Reported in Britain
LONDON — An environmental group opposed to biotechnology said varieties of genetically engineered corn banned in Britain have made their way into at least three brands of tortilla chips on sale here.
Friends of the Earth said over the weekend that GeneScan, a Freiburg, Germany-based laboratory, found Monsanto GA21, or Roundup Ready, biotech corn in tortilla chips made by Britain’s Phileas Fogg and by supermarket chains Asda and Safeway.
Smaller traces of another genetically modified corn, Dekalb DBT418, were found during GeneScan’s tests in tortilla chips made by British supermarket chains Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
That corn also is marketed by St. Louis-based Monsanto Co.
Hugh Grant, Monsanto’s chief operating officer, said Sunday that the company is willing to provide materials or technical experts to assist in any effort to confirm GeneScan’s findings.
Spokesmen from Asda, Safeway and United Biscuits, which owns Phileas Fogg, said their products previously have been tested and found to be free of biotech ingredients. However, all three said the group’s findings would be investigated.
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