Brussels, Oct. 4 - The European Commission said Wednesday it is considering requiring mandatory testing of U.S. rice imports in order to prevent unauthorized genetically modified strains from entering the continent.
But the Commission will hold off imposing the rule for 15 days in hopes of negotiating with Washington a common sample and testing protocol, Commission spokesman Philip Tod said.
If no agreement can be reached, Tod said then the commission will move ahead and submit its proposal for approval from European Union governments.
Europe is notoriously skeptical of genetic manipulation of crops. In July, Bayer AG (BAY) said it had found the Liberty Link Rice 601 strain - known as LL Rice 601 - in storage units in the farming states of Arkansas and Missouri.
Since then, the E.U. has tightened screening regulations to stop biotech rice from entering its market. It is illegal to import genetically modified rice into any of the E.U.'s 25 countries.
Under E.U. rules, U.S. shipments of long grain rice brands by companies such as Mars Inc.'s Uncle Ben's and Riceland Foods Inc. must be certified by an accredited laboratory to be free of Bayer's LL Rice 601.