June 5 (Reuters) – Monsanto Co. on Wednesday said broad testing of commercial seed in Oregon and Washington state showed no signs of its experimental genetically modified wheat.
The company said testing results of 30,000 samples of 50 varieties, representing 60 percent of white wheat acres in Oregon and Washington discovered no presence of its Roundup Ready herbicide-tolerant trait.
“This is a critical development,” said Monsanto chief technology officer Rob Fraley.
Fraley said over the past week the company has tested foundation seed and found no presence of the Roundup Ready trait.
Read Also
Government to invest in biofuel production
The federal government will invest $370 million in a new biofuel production incentive.
He said the company is providing a validated testing method that can be used to precisely identify the trait to the United States and many other countries.
“No one is more interested in getting to the bottom of this than we are,” he said. “The testing is complex. Sophisticated methods are required.”
Monsanto’s Roundup Ready trait was found in wheat growing in a farm field in Oregon in April and the news has roiled international wheat markets because it was never approved for commercial use and Monsanto said it shelved the biotech wheat seed in 2004.
South Korea said on Wednesday it has not detected any genetically modified wheat in tests so far on imports of the grain and flour from the state of Oregon, but plans wider tests to cover all U.S. shipments.
