Korea, Taiwan Approve Key GMO Import

Posted by Matt Hopkins|8 December 2009

INDIANAPOLIS and ST. LOUIS, US — Two more key regulatory milestones have been reached for the 2010 commercial launch of seed-trait combination SmartStax. Monsanto Co. and Dow AgroSciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Co., received import regulatory approvals from Korea and Taiwan for corn grain produced from SmartStax.
The food and feed safety of SmartStax corn was reviewed and approved by the Korean and Taiwan agencies charged with regulating biotech traits, according to Dow and Monsanto. These two additional approvals follow US, Canadian, and Japanese regulatory approvals announced by the companies in July 2009. Grain produced from SmartStax corn can now be imported to Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Australia, and New Zealand among other countries.

“These are significant milestones as we ramp up for 2010 launch of SmartStax,” Brad Shurdut, Global Biotech Regulatory and Government Affairs Leader for Dow AgroSciences, said in a press release. “Korea and Taiwan are significant importers of U.S. corn and these approvals pave the way for U.S. and Canadian growers to benefit from the most advanced, all in one corn trait platform.”

“SmartStax is a valuable tool in a farmer’s risk management strategy,” Jerry Hjelle, Monsanto Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, said in the release. “Its multiple modes of action against insect pressure means farmers can significantly lower their pesticide usage, and the reduced refuge for above and below-ground pests for SmartStax increases whole farm yield potential.”

The multiple modes of action in SmartStax are the only proven means to reduce structured refuge and maintain long-term durability of corn trait technologies, according to the companies. U.S. and Canadian corn farmers who plant SmartStax will be able to substantially reduce the structured refuge from the typical 20 percent to 5 percent in Canada and the US Corn Belt and from 50 percent to 20 percent in US cotton growing areas.

SmartStax is the outcome of a cross-licensing agreement and research and development collaboration signed in 2007 between Monsanto and Dow AgroSciences. Monsanto and Dow AgroSciences plan to launch SmartStax on more than 4 million acres in 2010. Monsanto will bring the corn product to market as Genuity SmartStax. Dow AgroSciences plans to offer SmartStax through its seed brands which include Mycogen, Dairyland, Renze, Brodbeck, Triumph and Pfister.