|
Washington, D.C.
April 28, 2008
The North American Millers’
Association learned on Friday that the
Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) has withdrawn its guidance for testing shipments of yellow
corn and dry-milled yellow corn intended for human food use for
the presence of Cry9C protein residues. FDA withdrew its
guidance in response to an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
“white paper” and to an independent assessment of StarLink
exposure, both of which found the U.S. corn supply is
essentially free of StarLink.
In the EPA paper, the Agency concluded that Cry9C has been
“sufficiently removed from the human food supply to render the
level or risk low enough that continued testing for the protein
in yellow corn at dry mills and masa production facilities
provided no additional human health protection.”
The EPA paper and the subsequent FDA announcement come after
seven years and the testing of more than four million corn
samples. No samples have been found to contain Cry9C protein in
more than four years. From the beginning millers followed the
FDA guidance, acknowledging the need to show quality assurance
procedures were in place and working. “We’re delighted that the
recent actions by the EPA and FDA have validated our long felt
conviction on the safety and wholesomeness of all milled grain
products,” said NAMA Chairman Rick Schwein, Grain Millers, Inc.
Millers remained confident throughout the process that a
science-based risk assessment by EPA would conclude further
testing for Cry9C was not necessary. There has not been a single
incident of a human health affect from Cry9C. “As it turns out,
there never was any real health or safety issue,” said Don
Sullins, PhD, ADM Milling Company and chairman of NAMA’s
Technical Committee. “Plus, since the last StarLink was grown in
2000 the U.S. has emptied and refilled its grain silos with
seven harvests - a total of more than 75 billion bushels. It’s
time to move on.”
NAMA is the trade association representing 49 companies that
operate 170 wheat, oat and corn mills in 38 states and Canada.
Their collective production capacity exceeds 160 million pounds
of product each day, more than 95 percent of the total industry
production. |
|
