In this link,
http://www.organicconsumers.org/2006/article_2159.cfm it says:
"LL601 was first detected in U.S. rice by an export customer of
Arkansas-based Riceland Foods in
January 2006. According to
Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Richard Bell, LL601 has been detected in virtually all milled long-grain rice supplies that have been tested. USDA announced the contamination debacle seven months later, on August 18th, when U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns
professed ignorance as to
how much rice was contaminated,
which rice products were involved, or where the contaminated rice was found."
---------------------
But Lundberg said that no-one knows WHERE the Genetically Modified rice had escaped from! Yet, from the above, it seems that this was known since JANUARY OF 2006, to be Arkansas (at least)!
I also wonder why Lundberg wrote a comment making it sound like they (Lundberg) agree with the USDA's "findings" that there are no human health hazards PRESENTLY known, from this FRANKENRICE! (See Lundberg's comments below).
Lundberg also wrote that organic farmers aren't required to do genetic testing, and that they (Lundberg) think it would be "premature" to tell us (the public) what they have found, with their own genetic testing of their long grain rice.
This comes from Lundberg's website, at:
http://www.lundberg.com/press/biotech_update.pdf and this includes:
· "Lundberg Family Farms opposes the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on farms and in foods.
· Lundberg Family Farms supports consumers' right to know if a product contains GMO ingredients.
·
Testing for GMOs is not a requirement of certified organic farms because of the highly regulated process of tracking and tracing all materials used in the production of organic foods.
· The USDA has not determined the cause of the LLRICE601 contamination and said it plans to conduct an investigation into how the product contaminated rice crops, and whether any violation of federal regulations occurred.
· Lundberg Family Farms has periodically purchased a small amount of long grain rice from growers and suppliers in Texas and
Arkansas. We are in communication with each of these growers and suppliers and will report our findings as they become available to us.
·
The USDA and FDA last week reported their scientific review of available data that revealed no human health, food safety or environmental concerns are associated with LLRICE601 rice.
· We will post updates on this situation to our website (
http://www.lundberg.com),
as we receive
them.
First, we learned that we can't trust Horizon organic products (based in Boulder, CO). Organic Valley Farms seems more trustworthy.
Then, I have questions about the "O" organic brand of Safeway...
Is any American brand of long grain brown rice safe?
Carol