Health

StarLink Corn Safety Questioned, Part 2

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

January 31, 2002 / 8:41 AM EST / CBS

CBS' Eye on America continues its hard news investigation of gene-altered food.

Even with a brand new crop hitting the fresh spring soil, farmer Fred Yoder hasn't recovered from the StarLink nightmare.

"Every corn grower, whether you're StarLink or not, has been affected by it," says Yoder, an Ohio farmer.

Last fall, when StarLink corn was found in taco shells, what followed--by one estimate--was a billion-dollar disaster for US agriculture.

Fear of a possible allergen in StarLink led to recalls of corn-based foods, from tortilla chips to corn dogs, to soups and snack foods. Exports of corn, especially to Japan, plummeted. The price of corn itself fell, too.

"People like me have lost out," says Yoder, who notes that he lost 20 cents a bushel because StarLink flooded the animal feed market after the scandal.

"It's cost me between $10,000 and $15,000, and I never planted one kernel of StarLink," he says.

Last month came the newest bombshell. Both the EPA and the maker of StarLink, the Aventis company, released studies showing by the time StarLink is processed into corn oil or syrup, none of the suspected allergen remained. In dry foods like tacos, only traces remained. In other words, all the recalls--in fact the whole nightmare--which may have been required by law, may not have been required by science.

"The science would say that you would not have to go through a recall like this," says Michael Phillips of the Biotechnology Industry Association.

Phillips says the EPA should now allow trace amounts of StarLink into food. Aventis is formally asking for a 20 parts per billion tolerance--arguing no harm, no foul.

"We do not believe that there's a human health risk from StarLink corn, mainly because there is no exposure," Phillips says.

Environmental groups strongly oppose any StarLink tolerance, calling it genetic pollution. But they find themselves in a battle with corn growers, who strongly support a tolerance.

Yoder says the reality is tiny pieces of StarLink remain in harvesters and grain bins across the country. Twenty parts per billion, he says--a handful in a silo--should be perfectly safe.

"We cannot do zero tolerance," Yoder says. "We have to decide that negligible amounts of this can move through the system and be done with it."

For farmers, some tolerance of StarLink is a necessary evil. They are still angry with Aventis for the market disruptions, but a tolerance would allow more of this years' crop to be used in food. And, it just might jump start exports.

Everyone recognizes the genetic genie is unleashed in the US corn crop. The only question for the EPA is, can a safe level be set?

For growers, the reputation of American corn and billions of dollars worth of exports are riding on the EPA's decision.