October 27, 2000 / Reuters
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Agriculture Department will, according to this story, publish a notice in November asking grain exporters, farm groups, food manufacturers and others if government rules are needed to ensure the strict segregation of gene-altered crops, such as StarLink corn.
A USDA spokeswoman was quoted as saying, "It's going to be a wide open notice on what role, if any, the USDA should play in marketing these commodities."
The story says that the document, known as an advance notice of proposed rulemaking, will be published in the Federal Register sometime in November.
The action has been planned for several months by the USDA, well before the discovery last month that some StarLink corn was accidentally commingled with other yellow corn supplies.
The USDA is also following through on a plan announced in May to create a biotech laboratory in Kansas City. The lab will not do routine testing of genetically-modified crops, but it will evaluate commercial test kits and procedures to ensure they are reliable.
A USDA spokesman in Kansas City said the opening of the lab, which had been expected during the autumn harvest, had been delayed until November due to staffing and construction issues.
