News
January 30
Appeal-Democrat (Marysville-Yuba City,
Calif.)
A controversial proposal by a Sacramento
biotechnology company to grow genetically
modified rice in the Sacramento Valley
has many area rice growers crying "StarLink."
StarLink was the infamous genetically
modified corn the biotech company Aventis
engineered to repel pests that was not
approved for human consumption. In 2000,
that corn found itself in the food chain,
prompting the recall of hundreds of
brands of taco shells and tortillas
in the United States.
Some California rice growers now fear
what happened to corn might happen to
rice, and they want to make sure the
California Rice Commission does what
it can to protect California's rice
market.
More than 30 rice growers, consultants
and representatives were present Thursday
as the Commission's review committee
labored for more than three hours over
language in a draft protocol by Ventria
Bioscience, which hopes to grow commercial
rice to produce therapeutic proteins
for pharmaceutical use.
The 12-page draft detailed guidelines
on how Ventria plans to contain its
pharmaceutical rice to prevent a repeat
of the corn industry's StarLink debacle.
However, the session produced more
questions than answers.
Ventria's plan is to grow rice so it
can then extract the proteins lactoferrin
and lysozyme, which are found in mother's
milk and thought to have anti-infective,
anti-inflammatory and iron binding properties.
Although Ventria officials say its
rice is safe for human consumption,
it will not be used as food; therefore,
the company is working with the Commission
on procedures to seclude it from food
rice fields.
Growers are concerned that if Ventria's
rice escapes into their fields, they
would have a product that would be considered
adultered, and under current labeling
laws, their product would be unsalable.
Bryce Lundberg, a Butte County organic
rice grower, was not satisfied with
Ventria's proposed protocol, noting
that it does not "adequately protect
the California rice industry from the
legally required zero tolerance from
contamination."
In November, Ventria submitted a pre-market
biotechnology notification to the Food
and Drug Administration and is currently
waiting for the agency to review its
product for safety.
Stacey Roberts, Ventria's director
of field productions, would not specify
when FDA is expected to complete its
review but said, "We think our
status is pretty good. We believe we
are on track for commercialization."
"We will be producing a pharmaceutical
in a crop that's going to soon be approved
by the FDA," she said.
Because the company is not seeking
approval from FDA for its rice to be
used as food, Roberts said, "(FDA
is) not going to establish a tolerance
for food, but if it is found in food,
it's safe."
Concerns the committee still has over
the protocol include contamination of
food rice by insect pollination, prompting
the suggestion for a bee-free zone,
which Roberts said would not be a problem.
She noted with the established buffer
zones already specified in the proposal,
the risk of accidental insect pollination
is already reduced because rice is a
self-pollinating crop.
The committee also suggested limiting
transportation distances of the pharmaceutical
rice to reduce the risk of rice being
inadvertently distributed.
"We understand very deeply that
transport is our riskiest task,"
Roberts said.
Tim Johnson, president of California
Rice Commission, said the draft protocol
will now go to its scientific task force
for further review. The committee will
then go over the task force's findings
in its next scheduled meeting, date
to be determined.
"We're not going to move rapidly
in an uninformed way," said Johnson.
"But I'm optimistic we'll be able
to answer some of these questions and
develop this program."
