Illegal GM flax found in Canadian imports now in German fields

How far reaching does this have to get before it is given proper attention? Will people have to die from eating it? Is it newsworthy then?
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Contamination of European food threatens Canadian export markets

An unapproved variety of genetically modified flax has been discovered in Canadian exports shipped to Germany and found growing illegally in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The European Commission’s Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) confirmed the contamination of Canadian flax exports with the GM flax, devastating Canadian flax sales to Europe. The GM flax has been illegal to grow in Canada since 2001 when flax growers forced the government to take the product off the market.

A German company confirmed the GM contamination in its cereals and bakery products and said that it could have been distributed on the market. The German surveillance lab in the state of Baden-Württemberg conducted tests that detected the GM flax. Officials in Baden-Württemberg discovered large quantities of GM flax growing illegally in the state, and it has apparently been unknowingly sold to several EU countries. “We assume that this discovery will affect not only Germany, but rather all of Europe,” said Peter Hauk, the state’s agriculture minister.

The GM flax variety, known as FP967 and “Triffid,” is not authorized for food or feed use in the European Union. Because it is not authorized in the EU, there is zero tolerance for FP967 per EU regulations. This means that any shipment of raw material or flax/linseed derivative that tests positive for FP967 is not marketable in the EU.


“Absolute nightmare”

“This is an absolute nightmare for flax growers and why we worked so hard to have the GM flax removed,” said Terry Boehm, a flax grower and Vice President of the National Farmers Union. “Flax growers forced the GM flax off the market eight years ago to prevent any threat of contamination and protect our export markets. GM flax was never wanted or needed. We knew it would destroy our European markets and now we fear this has happened.”

The GM flax is an herbicide tolerant variety that was developed by the Crop Development Centre of the University of Saskatchewan. It was named “Triffid” after a venomous mutant plant from a British science fiction film called Day of the Triffids. FP967 was approved by Canadian regulators in 1998 but the Flax Council of Canada convinced the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to remove variety registration for the GM flax in 2001, making it illegal to grow. Flax growers took this action to protect their export markets from the threat of GM contamination. In the wake of the 2001 controversy the Centre halted its GM research.

At the beginning of September, cash bids for flaxseed in Western Canada fell dramatically based on rumors of GMO contamination. According to a report in Alberta Farmer, cash bids for flax in Manitoba dropped to as low as $6.78 per bushel after being around $10 per bushel just a few days before the contamination incident became public.

Barry Hall, president of the Flax Council of Canada, said the incident could not have come at a worse time for the Canadian flaxseed industry because flax sales to Europe begin at this time. Approximately 70%, 500,000 to 700,000 tons, of Canada’s flax is exported to Europe.