REUTERS — Genetically modified wheat developed by Monsanto and never approved by United States government regulators, has been found growing in a Washington state farm field, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The discovery of 22 unapproved genetically modified wheat plants has prompted an investigation by federal and state investigators — the third such discovery in three years.
A farmer found the herbicide-tolerant GM wheat in a field that has not been planted since 2015. The plants had been identified as being one of Monsanto’s experimental varieties “a few weeks ago,” a spokesperson from the Washington state Department of Agriculture said.
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The USDA is testing grain harvested from the farmer’s other wheat fields as a precaution, the agency said. Officials also contacted at least one trade group earlier this week, and alerted importers on July 28.
The grain has not been traced in commercial supplies, USDA said in a statement.
There are currently no commercially approved genetically modified wheat varieties and incidences of rogue plants are rare. The first case was in 2013 in Oregon, which prompted buyers including South Korea and Japan to temporarily stop buying U.S. wheat. More unapproved wheat was found in Montana in 2014.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration believes there is no threat to the food supply due to the small number of plants found and based on what is known about the variety.
South Korea, the fifth largest market for U.S. wheat, said earlier the country will step up quarantine measures for U.S. milling and feed wheat shipments.
The discovery comes as the latest blow for the U.S. wheat market as prices hover near multi-year lows amid record-large stocks and stiff competition in global markets.
Monsanto helped to develop a test for MON 71700, the glyphosate-tolerant strain found in Washington state, which would be available to U.S. trading partners, the USDA said.
