BRUSSELS IS poised to impose an import ban on US maize, unless it is accompanied by a certificate guaranteeing that it is free of all traces of the unauthorised Bt10 GM maize from Syngenta.

Member state representatives on the EU”s food chain committee, meeting in Brussels on Tuesday (Apr 12) agreed unanimously to impose this restriction on US shipments to guarantee that maize-based animal feeds did not contain any illegal material.

 The commission is expected to endorse the committee”s proposal. The problem has arisen because several hundred tonnes of Bt10 maize seed was accidentally sold to US farmers as Bt11 – approved both in the USA and the EU – over a four-year period. Even though the varieties are similar and the risks are small, Brussels is determined to keep the unapproved maize out of EU animal rations.

Environmental pressure group Friends of the Earth says it supports the EU”s call for future US shipments to be certified Bt10-free, but says that, in the absence of a proper detection system for Bt10, all US maize imports should be stopped.