WASHINGTON, D.C. (Reuters) — A strain of genetically modified wheat never approved for sale or consumption was found sprouting on a farm in Oregon, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said today.
Monsanto developed the variety years ago, but it was never put into use because of worldwide opposition to GM wheat.
The most recent field test of such wheat was in 2005.
Roughly half of the U.S. wheat crop is exported.
USDA officials said the Food and Drug Administration determined years ago that there is no health risk to humans from the strain.
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“Hopefully, our trading partners will be very understanding,” said acting U.S. deputy agriculture secretary Michael Scuse.
He said trading partners and major customers for U.S. wheat had been informed of the discovery over the past day.
GM crops cannot be grown legally in the United States unless the government approves them after a review to ensure they pose no threat to the environment or people.
Monsanto entered four strains of glyphosate-resistant wheat for U.S. approval in the 1990s, but regulators made no final decision because the company decided there was no market.
The GM wheat sprouted this spring on an Oregon farm in a field that grew winter wheat in 2012.
Some of the volunteer plants unexpectedly survived after the farmer sprayed them with glyphosate. Samples were then sent to Oregon State University and the USDA for analysis.
Testing showed the wheat was a Monsanto-developed strain resistant to glyphosate. Monsanto is assisting in the investigation, the USDA said.
Monsanto tested Roundup Ready wheat varieties in 16 states from 1998 to 2005, the department said.
Scuse and Michael Firko, who oversees the USDA’s biotechnology approval process, said the department was investigating how the strain appeared on the farm when no seeds should have been available for several years.
“I think it will have a significant impact,” said Ronnie Cummins, national director of the Organic Consumers Association, which battled to keep GM wheat out of the marketplace.
The U.S. Senate recently rejected by a wide margin a measure to allow states to order labeling of food made with GM crops. Cummins said the discovery of the rogue plants in Oregon would accelerate efforts to require GM food labels.
