Two weeks ago the corn market couldn't get past the European Union's decision to require proof that imports of corn gluten feed and brewers grains were free of the Syngenta's Bt10 variety. Thankfully last week has come about with less fanfare over the biotech mix-up.
Dow Jones reports that the European Commission stated in a press briefing on Friday that they had received a testing method for detecting Bt10 in corn shipments. The Joint Research Committee states on its Web site that Bt10 can be detected even if it represents less than 0.1% of a grain consignment.
Syngenta spokesperson Anne Burt says it is the company's understanding that GeneScan, the diagnostic test maker, would be at U.S. ports to confer the certificate for the exporter at that time.
Currently the European Union is the only export market that has required the U.S. to certify corn shipments were free of the biotech event. Burt says Syngenta continues to have ongoing dialogue with Japan and South Korea, but at this time no official requirements have been mandated by any other markets.
European Union corn gluten feed and brewers grain represents a market worth nearly $300 annually for the United States.