A Monsanto/Cargill joint venture has quietly withdrawn its application for high-lysine transgenic corn after EU regulators on the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) GMO panel raised questions about its safety for human consumption.
Made by Renessen LLC, LY038 would have been the only high lysine corn available and had already been approved for food use in Japan, S. Korea, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and for cultivation in the US, although it has never been grown. Although LY038 is not intended for human consumption the likelihood of genetic cross-contamination means that EU food approval was necessary for commercial growing of the crop anywhere.
Withdrawal therefore means that transgenic high-lysine corn has been abandoned as a commercial proposition, at least for the foreseeable future. Withdrawal was not announced by any of the companies involved but is indicated on the GMO Compass website and confirmation was obtained by the campaigning group GM-free Cymru. In a letter obtained by GM-free Cymru, Renessen claims that withdrawal was "for commercial reasons". These were not specified and none of the commercial swine experts we contacted could tell us what those reasons might be.
LY038 corn contains the enzyme DHDPS (dihydrodipicolinate synthase) from Corynebacterium glutamicum, which leads to the accumulation of approximately 50-fold higher levels of free lysine in the maize kernel. It is intended as an alternative to lysine supplementation, in particular for pigs feeding on a corn/soymeal- based diet. The market size for lysine was estimated at 450,000 metric tons in 2000.
Transgenic High-Lysine Corn LY038 Withdrawn After EU Raises Safety Questions
-
Transgenic High-Lysine Corn LY038 Withdrawn After EU Raises Safety Questions
The Bioscience Resource Project News Service, November 10, 2009
Straight to the Source
