The European Commission today approved the use of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready® Corn NK603 and its processed products as food and food ingredients under the Novel Foods Regulation. Monsanto’s NK603, which is designed to be tolerant to the active ingredient in the Roundup® family of agricultural herbicides, is currently marketed as Roundup Ready Corn 2 in the United States.

“Monsanto welcomes the European Commission’s ruling on Roundup Ready Corn 2 technology and their affirmation of the safety of Roundup Ready Corn 2 for use in food products,” said Jerry Hjelle, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for Monsanto. “This decision not only reaffirms the findings of regulatory bodies throughout the world, it also reinforces the profound benefits and potential of this technology for growers and the environment.”

With this decision, the European Union (EU) authorizes the use of NK603 for human consumption. At the same time, the decision completes the necessary steps for allowing the import, processing and use of NK603 grain in animal feed in the EU, which was announced in July 2004. Today’s decision will be published in the Official Journal of the EU in the coming weeks. The European Commission’s decision does not include the approval of Roundup Ready Corn 2 for cultivation in the EU, which is the subject of a separate submission under Directive 2001/18/EC.

“Today’s decision is great news for the more than 200 seed companies and tens of thousands of U.S. farmers who plant biotech-enhanced corn hybrids,” said Kerry Preete, Vice President of U.S. Crop Production for Monsanto. “We remain hopeful that this decision is a signal that the European Communities and its Member States are serious about ending the moratorium on biotech approvals.”

“The European Commission’s decision is a welcome step forward, although long overdue, and supports the National Corn Growers Association’s goal of providing information about and promoting acceptance of biotechnology,” said Leon Corzine, President of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA). “Biotechnology continues to be one of NCGA’s key priorities and this decision is certainly encouraging for U.S. corn growers.”

In light of today’s decision, growers who planted Roundup Ready Corn 2 hybrids (single trait, not stacked traits) are encouraged to check with their local grain handler regarding that facility’s buying policy.

Monsanto is currently awaiting decisions on separate submissions for its corn trait technologies combined with NK603. Until these separate submissions within the EU regulatory process are complete, growers planting hybrids containing Roundup Ready Corn 2 with YieldGard insect-protected technologies will need to market the grain under the Market Choices® certification mark.

The Market Choices certification mark identifies those hybrids that are fully approved for food and feed use in the United States and Japan, but are still awaiting the necessary approvals in the European Union. Growers that plant Market Choices hybrids must use appropriate markets for this grain including domestic feed use or work with grain handlers who specifically agree to accept the grain and handle it appropriately. Growers should contact their local seed dealers and grain handlers for more stewardship details.

Since Roundup Ready corn technology was first introduced in the United States in 1998, growers have realized numerous on-farm benefits including simpler and better weed control. The Roundup Ready system also encourages the adoption of conservation tillage practices, which reduces soil erosion, improves water quality and wildlife habitat, while optimizing yields.

The benefits of the technology continue to serve as a primary driver for adoption. Monsanto’s year-end sales data for 2004 highlight that acres planted with Roundup Ready corn rose for a seventh consecutive season in the United States. Roundup Ready corn technology is estimated to have been planted on more than 16 million acres this season, up from 12 million acres in 2003.

Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality.

Roundup Ready, YieldGard and Roundup are registered trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC. Market Choices is a registered certification mark used under license from the American Seed Trade Association.

Genetically modified NK603 maize authorised in the European Union for both food and feed

The European Commission today authorised the placing on the market of foods and food ingredients derived from genetically modified maize line NK603 in accordance with the GM Food and Feed Regulation. NK603 maize has already been approved under Directive 2001/18/EC for import and for use as animal feed and for industrial processing. With both approvals in place, it is now possible to place on the market NK603 maize and derived products such as starch, oil, maize gluten feed and maize meal for food and feed use. However, the crop will be grown and harvested outside the EU. In line with the new EU legislation on labelling, the maize and any product containing it will have to show clearly that it has been genetically modified. The Commission took the decision to authorise NK603 following the failure of the Council either to approve or reject the Commission proposal for authorisation.

David Byrne, the Commissioner responsible for Health and Consumer Protection, said: "During my time as Commissioner, we put in place a clear and strict system for the authorisation and labelling of GMOs, based on clear scientific advice. We are now seeing the system work in practice. The clear labelling system guarantees consumers what they have asked for: the information they need so that they can choose whether or not to buy any genetically modified products."

NK603 maize has been modified to make the maize tolerant to the herbicide glyphosphate. This improves weed control and thereby the cultivation of maize. The authorisation of NK603 maize for food use is valid immediately and will stay valid for 10 years. It results from an application submitted by the company Monsanto. NK603 maize has undergone a thorough safety assessment on the basis of international guidelines for any adverse impact on public health. It has been assigned a unique identifier and a validated detection method in order to allow labelling and traceability according to the new EU rules.

The EU has one of the most stringent safety systems for GMOs. Each authorisation is granted on its own merits and requests for authorisations which do not fulfil all criteria have been and will continue to be rejected.

For further information, please see the website of DG Health and Consumer Protection and the Questions and Answers on the regulation of GMOs in the EU: MEMO/04/102