In April this year, the reporter randomly bought five bags of different varieties of rice in a large supermarket in Wuhan, Hubei Province, and then sent them to the China Academy of Inspection and Quarantine for testing. The test results are surprising. Among the five kinds of rice, three contain genetically modified ingredients. So far, the government of China has never approved the commercial cultivation of any kind of genetically modified rice, nor has it approved the import of genetically modified rice, which means that the genetically modified rice and rice products appearing in the market are illegal, and these illegal genetically modified products are quietly coming to people’s table.
Transgenic component Bt63 was detected in the rice purchased in the supermarket.
In recent years, there have been media reports that the rice sold in the surrounding markets in Wuhan, Hubei Province contains genetically modified ingredients. At the same time, rice products exported from China to the European Union are frequently found to contain genetically modified ingredients. In the EU’s rapid warning system for food and feed, in 2013 alone, rice products exported from China to the EU were found to contain genetically modified ingredients for 25 times.
In April this year, the reporter bought five kinds of rice at random in a large supermarket in Wuhan, and then sent them to China Academy of Inspection and Quarantine for testing. The test results are surprising. Among the five kinds of rice, three contain the genetically modified ingredient Bt63, and most of the genetically modified ingredients displayed in the EU early warning system are of this type.
Bt63 is a patented transgenic insect-resistant rice developed by the School of Life Science and Technology of Huazhong Agricultural University. It was successfully developed in 1999 and has been evaluated for 11 years. In 2009, Bt63 transgenic insect-resistant rice obtained the safety certificate of transgenic organisms, but it was not approved for commercial planting. According to "People’s Republic of China (PRC) Seed Law", genetically modified crops are not allowed to be planted commercially before obtaining the commercial planting license. Then, where did the rice containing Bt63 gene detected in the market come from, where was it planted, and where did the seeds come from?
A kilo of rice is planted in 40 yuan, and many farmers grow insect-resistant rice.
Zhongshan Road, Wuchang District, Wuhan City is a famous seed street, where dozens of seed sales outlets, large and small, are concentrated. In April this year, during the rice planting season, the reporter came to this street, trying to find genetically modified rice seeds and then tracing their sources.
I heard that the reporter wanted to buy insect-resistant rice, but the owners of several shops said that they didn’t. When asked why, they said that they had sold it before, but now it is strictly controlled and no one dares to sell it.
After repeated questioning by reporters, a boss provided clues. According to this, the reporter went to Jinxing Village of Lingmiao in Jiangxia section for investigation, and found that many local farmers were planting genetically modified rice. They buy rice seeds at the seed sales point in Jinxing Village at the price of one catty in 40 yuan, but they usually buy rice seeds through acquaintances. For various reasons, the boss of the point of sale avoided the reporter’s interview.
The source of transgenic rice seeds may be Huazhong Agricultural University.
Bt63 transgenic insect-resistant rice is a patent of School of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University. Theoretically, Huanong is the original seed source of all the transgenic rice containing Bt63 in the market.
Zhang Qifa, academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, professor of Huanong College of Life Science, mainly engaged in molecular genetics and genetic engineering research, and the leader of Bt63 transgenic insect-resistant rice project. In the interview, Zhang Qifa did not deny the possibility of GM rice spreading from Huanong. According to him, there may be two channels: first, different units or individuals may take rice seeds when the results are displayed and identified in 1999; Second, when Huanong conducted a large-scale productive experiment in 2003, a subsidiary may illegally breed after taking the seeds.
According to Zhang Qifa, in the 1990s, the state did not have strict legal provisions on the safety management of genetically modified organisms, and many scientific research achievements were shared by everyone. It was not until 2001 that the State Council issued and implemented the Measures for the Safety Management of Agricultural Genetically Modified Organisms that the safety management of genetically modified crops became standardized. Prior to this, seed companies could easily get Bt63 transgenic insect-resistant rice seeds, then breed them themselves and then enter the market.
According to several media reports, Zhang Qifa was the CEO of a company named corneal, which was the important source of Huanong’s "intentional disclosure" of genetically modified rice.
In this regard, Zhang Qifa said, "It is hard to say that it was intentionally leaked". At that time, the establishment of the company was a part of the country’s plan to promote the cultivation and industrialization of genetically modified crops. He introduced that according to the national regulations on the management of genetically modified crops, large-scale productive experiments must be carried out before genetically modified insect-resistant rice can obtain a biosafety certificate. In 2003, the Ministry of Agriculture approved 2,000 mu of farmland for the production test of Bt63 transgenic insect-resistant rice, in which hundreds of farmers participated. At the end of 2002, after the establishment of corneal Company, the production experiment of Bt63 transgenic insect-resistant rice was just completed.
So, in the process of productive experiment, did it cause the leakage and diffusion of seeds? According to Zhang Qifa, corneal Company didn’t have seed production capacity at that time, but entrusted other seed companies to produce seeds, and then distributed the seeds to farmers after recycling them. In this process, the seed company has the possibility of leakage.
The shopkeeper tore up the receipt and denied selling genetically modified rice seeds.
The reporter went to Wulijie Town, Jiangxia District, Wuhan, which is also a major rice producing area. According to the interview experience in Duanlingmiao town, it is difficult for strangers to buy genetically modified rice seeds, so the reporter found a local farmer to help him buy them at the seed sales point in the town.
According to the farmer, this kind of insect-resistant rice is very popular among farmers, because it can resist borers, and they can save the money for buying pesticides and the labor cost for spraying drugs, saving 200 to 300 yuan per mu, which is quite attractive to farmers with a gross income of only over 1000 yuan per mu.
There are nearly ten seed shops in Wulijie town, large and small, and the farmers who help them enter a sales point called Jiexing Seed Shop. A few minutes later, the boss turned into the back room and took out two bags of genetically modified insect-resistant rice seeds. However, when the reporter entered the salesroom again, the proprietress said that she never sold genetically modified insect-resistant rice seeds.
Subsequently, the reporter sent the purchased rice seeds to Beijing Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau for testing, and the results showed that the rice seeds contained insect-resistant transgenic Bt63. According to the information on the packaging of the rice seed named "Liangyou Jianghui 902" purchased by the reporter, the rice seed was produced by Hunan Xiuhua Technology Co., Ltd. The reporter went to Xiuhua Company in Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province, and found Li Yonghong, the person in charge of declaring the variety at that time, but he said that the company could not have genetically modified seeds.
With the assistance of Zhuzhou Seed Management Station, the reporter sampled the seeds of Liangyou Jianghui 902 on the spot. The test results showed that the sampled grains did not contain Bt63. That is to say, the seeds purchased by the reporter in the seed sales department in Jiangxia District of Wuhan and the seeds in the grain depot of Hunan Xiuhua Company are not the same rice seed.
Then, who produced the genetically modified rice seeds purchased by reporters and how did they enter the market? The reporter once again came to Jiexing Seed Sales Department. The proprietress denied that she had ever sold rice seeds, so the reporter took out the receipt issued by the sales department when she bought rice seeds, but the proprietress always denied it. Under the stalemate, the reporter dialed the complaint phone number of Jiangxia Seed Station marked on the receipt, hoping that law enforcement officers could come to investigate and collect evidence, but the person who answered the phone said that the leaders had a meeting and the law enforcement officers had gone to the countryside and could not come.
No sooner had the reporter put down the phone than the owner of this shop appeared. After a dispute, the boss tore up the receipt and drove the reporter away.
Rice testing loopholes, factory inspection, genetically modified
Among the three kinds of rice bought by the reporter that were found to contain transgenes, two kinds of rice were produced at Shekou Street in the urban-rural junction of huangpi district.
According to Director Ni of a rice factory, the rice provided by the reporter should come from Jianghan Plain, such as Qianjiang, Jingmen and Jingzhou. The rice and rice in their processing plant come from all over the country. During the processing, the factory will make certain preparations according to the taste and color of the rice, and then pack it and leave the factory.
In the test report presented by director Ni, the reporter saw that the rice in Wuhan market is currently implemented in GB1354-2009 standard. The standard only stipulates some physical indicators of rice. After the local regulatory authorities test rice according to this standard, qualified rice can enter the market for sale.
It is understood that the rice factory standards formulated in China do not contain genetically modified detection items, so government regulatory authorities and enterprises will not test the rice factory, which leads to rice manufacturers not knowing even if some rice contains genetically modified ingredients. These rice, so quietly to the consumer’s table.
For many export enterprises, they also face the same problem, because they unknowingly bought rice containing genetically modified ingredients, which caused them to suffer losses when exporting. A batch of white rice cakes exported by a food company in Shanghai to the European Union in 2013 were found to contain genetically modified ingredients.
In order to reduce losses, some domestic enterprises will conduct their own testing of genetically modified ingredients according to EU standards. However, the general manager of a food company in Shanghai said that because there are many sources of rice in the market, despite the testing links, enterprises are hard to prevent. According to what they know, genetically modified rice has spread, and it is difficult to recover it, and it is out of control. Most of the rice in Hunan, Hubei, Anhui and Fujian have been "polluted" by genetic modification.
It is understood that on May 27 this year, the Ministry of Agriculture issued the Notice of the Ministry of Agriculture on Further Strengthening the Safety Supervision of Agricultural Genetically Modified Organisms, requiring agricultural departments at all levels to focus on rice, corn, soybean and rape seeds and severely investigate and deal with illegal production, processing and sales of genetically modified seeds according to law.
