Canadian growers are not the only ones under a microscope for allegedly planting an unapproved GM flax variety.
“I’ve heard rumours from different sources that there are a number of flax growers in Europe that are actually growing FP967,” said Alan McHughen, creator of the FP967 or CDC Triffid, a variety believed to have halted flax trade with Europe.
He suspects European growers “inappropriately” acquired the seed in Canada, took it home and are taking advantage of its ability to tolerate sulfonylurea herbicide residue in the soil.
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“They certainly didn’t get that material from me,” said McHughen.
The Local, an English language German newspaper, is reporting that officials in Baden-Wurttemberg have discovered large quantities of GM flax being grown illegally in southwestern Germany and being sold to several European Union countries.
Stefanie Hundsdorfer, a campaigner with Greenpeace Germany, said reports of Triffid being grown in Germany are erroneous.
“That’s not true. That was a translation mistake,” she said. “They mixed it up.”
Even if it were true, it doesn’t explain how CDC Triffid is showing up in Canadian shipments, according to tests conducted by European labs.
