Brussels, Aug 23 - U.S. rice exporters selling long grain rice to the European Union must certify their produce is free of a genetically engineered strain not cleared for human consumption under tough screening rules launched by the European Commission Wednesday.
The new rules follow revelations late last week that an unauthorized strain of rice owned by German biotech company Bayer AG (BAY) has contaminated commercial rice stocks in the U.S. states of Arkansas and Missouri.
The import rules are effective immediately, the Commission said in a statement.
"There is no flexibility for unauthorized GMOs - these cannot enter the E.U. food and feed chain under any circumstances. The measures we have taken today will ensure that unauthorized GM rice is not inadvertently imported," said European Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Markos Kyprianou.