A team of Japanese food, feed and environmental regulators from four government agencies recently visited their U.S. counterparts as well as U.S. biotechnology seed companies, biotech industry organizations, a U.S. corn farmer, and companies involved in the production, distribution and export of U.S. corn to Japan.<\/p>\n
The Japanese regulators are responsible for the approval of biotech corn events, and during their July 26-30 visit the team explored how Japan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s regulatory system could best work with the U.S. corn production and distribution system to handle future U.S. biotech corn events. <\/p>\n
The team examined how U.S. regulators and the biotech industry address the unintentional, low-level presence of unapproved events in the commercial corn supply and practical solutions for maintaining the continuation of trade should such an event occur. The team also learned about how the U.S. biotech regulators and industry establish responsible, risk-based measures and policies for handling any unintended comingling of unapproved events involving commercial corn. <\/p>\n
The team\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s visit included a stop at Dan Erickson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 1,500-acre corn, soybean and cattle farm in Alden, Minn., for a first-hand look at biotech crop production and the implementation of production-related environmental rules. <\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153They commented that 98 percent of the corn in Japan is from the United States, so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a pretty big deal for them to see it growing, how it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s grown and what goes into it,\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd said Erickson, a regional representative for Council member Minnesota Corn Research & Promotion Council. <\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We showed them both sides of the operation,\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd he said\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe crops and 450 head of cattle\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwhich included a detailed look at biotech root traits and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153how we benefit from them.\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd They wanted \u00e2\u20ac\u0153to make sure it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s safe and make sure we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re still healthy after handling them [the biotech crops].\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd <\/p>\n
Among the benefits of using biotech seeds, Erickson explained, is the protection from rootworm. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The alternative is insecticide. That means as growers we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d have to handle that, and as growers, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d rather not.\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd When the insecticide trait \u00e2\u20ac\u0153is in the actual seed, we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to use the insecticide.\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd <\/p>\n
Erickson also pointed the group to the farm\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s refuge acres, about 20 percent of his cropland, on which the worms can feed so they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mutate and become resistant to the seed insecticide traits. <\/p>\n
The differences in scale between Japanese and U.S. farms require the use of different cultural practices, and in the United States that means large tractors and combines. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Just the combine and tractor generated a lot of pictures,\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd Erickson said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We were the first farm in the United States they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d ever been to,\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd he said. <\/p>\n
The visit of the regulator team \u00e2\u20ac\u0153was really rewarding,\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd Erickson said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153They were interested in what we were talking about. They took a lot of notes, took a lot of pictures and asked a lot of questions. I thought that was real positive.\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd <\/p>\n
Japanese departments represented in the visit included:
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 The Food Safety Commission
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 The Food and Agricultural Materials Inspection Center <\/p>\n
Suguru Sato, an agricultural specialist with the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, and Tommy Hamamoto, U.S. Grains Council director in Japan, travelled with the team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A team of Japanese food, feed and environmental regulators from four government agencies recently visited their U.S. counterparts as well as U.S. biotechnology seed companies, biotech industry organizations, a U.S. corn farmer, and companies involved in the production, distribution and export of U.S. corn to Japan. The Japanese regulators are responsible for the approval of … <\/p>\n