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Feed Mill Fined for Using GMO Corn

A feed mill in China's Guangdong Province has been fined by authorities for using unapproved genetically modified corn as raw material. Could this be a signal that Chinese officials are ready to crack down on corn imports?

The announcement was featured in news media as one of 10 "representative cases" of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs' campaign to "stabilize grain production, protect supply." Authorities say traces of imported GMO corn were found in the company's processing equipment in a sample inspection for GMOs. The feed company had not obtained a license to process agricultural GMOs. The batch of illegally processed corn totaled 31.02 metric tons. The corn had already been processed, but final products had not been sold, according to the description of the case. The company was fined 101,000 yuan (less than $14,000) and products were destroyed.

Chinese agricultural authorities announce "representative cases" in GMO crackdowns about once a year, but it is unusual--perhaps unprecedented--to feature illegal use of GMO grain by a processor.

For example, early this year an announcement of representative cases of GMO violations from 2022 featured unapproved trials of GMO corn by two seed companies in a Hainan; GMO corn trials in Henan Province conducted by DBN Ag Technology Co. without obtaining a license from the county; traces of GMO corn were discovered in plots of summer corn trialed by Beijing Wannong Pioneer in Tianjin; and two shops were caught selling unlabeled GMO soybeans in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province.

The discovery of GMO corn in the Guangdong feed mill announced this week was actually made a year ago, on September 9, 2022. Why did it take a year to announce it? None of the other 9 "representative cases" were mentioned. Is this a signal from authorities that corn imports need to be cut back?

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