St. Louis, Missouri
April 15, 2008
It’s great news for Japanese
consumers and U.S. corn growers that Japan is turning more to
biotech corn to meet growing food needs, the
National Corn Growers Association
(NCGA) said. Bloomberg News Service reported Monday that
Japan's largest buyer of corn for use in food, Nihon Shokuhin
Kako, is importing genetically modified corn for the first time
this year.
“We have always believed that biotech corn is a safe product,
and an integral part of reaching the production levels needed to
feed and fuel the world,” said Martin Barbre, chairman of NCGA’s
Biotechnology Working Group. ”Japan is our largest export market
for both conventional corn as well as non-GMO corn. This
announcement is interesting because it indicates a Japanese
processor is willing introduce biotech products into the food
ingredient market, despite likely labeling requirements.”
Bloomberg reports the company, a Mitsubishi subsidiary, will
process 9.8 million bushels of U.S. biotech corn this year. It
is the biggest of 11 corn-starch makers in Japan and buys more
than 19 million bushels of the grain annually.
In 2007, 73 percent of U.S. corn acreage was planted with
biotech seed. Japan allows food companies to use genetically
modified crops that the government confirms as safe to eat,
Bloomberg reported, and the country has approved 36 varieties of
hybrid corn, according to Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and
Welfare.
Click here for more information on the importance and safety of
biotech corn. |
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