Des Moines, Iowa and Indianapolis,
Indiana
April 4, 2007
Biotech trait offers farmers
improved productivity to meet increased demand for corn
The Herculex® RW Rootworm corn trait -- 59122 maize -- has been
given a positive safety opinion by the
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), moving the trait another
step closer to approval for food, feed and import into the
European Union (EU).
The safety opinion from EFSA, the EU's independent scientific
authority charged by regulators with review of health and safety
issues, represents a significant advancement for the
rootworm-resistance trait. In response to EFSA's opinion, the EU
Commission now has three months to forward its approval decision
to Member States for a vote.
While EFSA's positive safety opinion does not mean that grain
that contains the Herculex® RW trait is approved for import into
the EU yet, this significant milestone is further confirmation
that Herculex® RW is as safe as conventional corn.
"We are optimistic about bringing this novel technology to the
EU market in the very near future," said Dean Oestreich, DuPont
vice president, general manager and president of DuPont
subsidiary Pioneer Hi-Bred
International, Inc.
"This trait has already been approved by many countries around
the globe," added Antonio Galindez, Dow AgroSciences global
leader for crops, "and provides immense value to users by
increasing productivity to meet rapidly increasing demand for
corn."
Herculex® RW was developed jointly by
Dow AgroSciences LLC and
Pioneer. Both companies strongly encourage EU Member States to
approve corn with the Herculex® RW trait for food, feed and
import into the EU, in keeping with EFSA's positive safety
opinion.
The Herculex® RW trait provides a high level of protection all
season long against western, northern and Mexican larval corn
rootworm, thereby dramatically reducing adult rootworm
emergence. In the United States alone, damage by corn rootworm
currently costs growers about $1 billion annually.
The Herculex® RW trait received regulatory approvals for U.S.
cultivation in 2005 and was first available in corn hybrids in
the U.S. market for the 2006 growing season. The trait is also
approved for import and for feed and food use in ten countries
around the world: Australia, New Zealand, Canada, China, Japan,
Korea, Mexico, Philippines, Taiwan and the United States.
Dow AgroSciences LLC,
based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, is a top tier agricultural
company providing innovative crop protection, pest and
vegetation management, seed, and agricultural biotechnology
solutions to serve the world's growing population. Global sales
for Dow AgroSciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow
Chemical Company, are $3.4 billion. Learn more at
http://www.dowagro.com .
Pioneer Hi-Bred International,
Inc., a subsidiary of DuPont, is the world's leading source
of customized solutions for farmers, livestock producers and
grain and oilseed processors. With headquarters in Des Moines,
Iowa, Pioneer provides access to advanced plant genetics, crop
protection solutions and quality crop systems to customers in
nearly 70 countries. DuPont is a science-based products and
services company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work
by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer,
healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 70
countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and
services for markets including agriculture and food; building
and construction; communications; and transportation.
(R) Herculex is a registered trademark of Dow AgroSciences LLC.
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