WASHINGTON — Dozens of small seed companies have found corn seed contaminated with traces of a biotech variety that was not approved for human consumption, the government says.
The Department of Agriculture agreed to buy the contaminated corn to ensure that it doesn’t get planted. So far, 77 of the 281 small companies eligible for the program have asked for the purchase contracts, USDA spokesman Kevin Herglotz said Monday.
“The important thing was to get (the buyback program) up and running, to make sure we could prevent any potentially contaminated seed from being planted,” Herglotz said.
Large seed companies and firms that were licensed to sell the biotech corn were not eligible for the program. The department doesn’t know yet how much seed handled by the 77 companies was contaminated, Herglotz said.
The biotech seed, named StarLink, was approved only for animal consumption because of unanswered questions about whether a special protein, called Cry9C, in the corn can cause allergic reactions in people.
Discovery of the corn in the food supply last fall forced nationwide recalls of taco shells and other products and grain shipping was disrupted as processors and handlers started testing for the grain.
Some 68 companies are still testing their seed, but most of the contamination would have been found by now, said Angela Dansby, a spokeswoman for the American Seed Trade Association. She said there have been no shortages of seed for farmers this spring.
The testing is likely to continue for several years. “The seed industry and USDA will continue to birddog this issue or situation until there is evidence that Cry9C is no longer in corn seed,” she said.
The department has estimated, based on information supplied by the companies, that less than 1 percent of the 40 million bags of corn seed produced for planting this year contains some trace of StarLink.
USDA has estimated the buyback program will cost taxpayers about $20 million. The department is expected to pay about $35 to $50 per bag for the contaminated seed. Corn seed retails for about $75 a bag.
The National Corn Growers Association warned farmers against buying seed not certified as StarLink-free.
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