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Meet to review import of corn soya blend

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI FEB. 26. The controversy over the proposal of NGOs, Care India and Christian Relief Society (CRS), to import corn soya blend from the U.S. for supply to pre-school children, pregnant women and lactating mothers under the Integrated Child Development Scheme has taken a new turn, with the Centre convening a special meeting of the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee under the Union Environment Ministry here on March 6 to make a fresh review of the proposal.

A significant feature of the meeting would be that it would be attended by representatives of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) also, apart from those of Care India and CRS.

Confirming the participation of the USAID representatives, senior Environment Ministry officials said they would not be participating in their individual capacity. They would be attending as part of the NGOs' delegation, since, as per procedure, only the applicants, and in this case, only the two NGOs, can appear before the GEAC. The proposal of Care India and CRS had run into a controversy after the Indian Council of Medical Research raised apprehensions that the corn soya blend that was sought to be imported might contain `Starlink', a genetically modified crop variety that is banned for human consumption and is allowed only as animal feed in the U.S.

The ICMR raised the apprehension after a similar shipment to Japan earlier was found to contain the banned product. The GEAC then asked the NGOs to get a certificate that the consignment did not contain `Starlink'. But, they failed to do so and consequently, the GEAC turned down their application in November last year.

Recently, the two NGOs applied for a fresh review of the case and according to sources, the GEAC agreed to reopen the case following pressure from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

In a related development, the Union Environment Ministry today held a meeting of senior officials of various Ministries and Departments as a first step towards evolving a national policy and strategy to address the various issues relating to import of GM crops and food products based on them in a coordinated manner.

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