Japan said it found banned gene-altered StarLink corn in a US shipment, a discovery that may threaten the US$1.3 billion in trade of the grain between the two countries.
Japan found traces of StarLink yesterday in a 1,200-ton corn cargo from the US on a vessel at Nagoya port, said Takuya Kondo, an official at the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
Japan's Mitsui & Co imported the corn and has been ordered to dispose of it or return it to the exporter in the US, he said.
"We have the ability to find even a tiny amount of StarLink through our inspection system," Kondo said. He did not specify how much was discovered.
Japan banned the use of StarLink on concern it may cause allergic reactions. The US Food and Drug Administration approved its use in animal feed, though not for human consumption.
In 2000, the discovery of StarLink in taco shells in the US disrupted corn sales to Japan, the biggest US grain customer.
It also resulted in recalls of taco shells, corn chips and other food items.
Officials in Mitsui in charge of corn imports could not be reached as their phone lines are engaged.
"US Embassy agricultural officials were informed by Japanese government agricultural officials that trace amounts of StarLink were found in a shipment of grain from the US," said US Embassy spokesman Patrick Linehan.
"They are working closely with Japanese government officials to resolve the problem."
Linehan said Japan and the US monitor grain shipments for StarLink.
After the StarLink contamination in 2000, Japan reduced its purchases of US corn by 7.9 percent to 14.557 million metric tons in the sales season that ended Aug. 31, 2001, from 15.815 million tonnes a year earlier.
Japan last year bought about US$1.3 billion worth of US corn, or about 30 percent of all US corn sold abroad, US Department of Agriculture figures show.
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