China Rejects US GM Corn Shipment

(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) China has rejected 12 batches of US corn shipments tainted with a genetically-modified (GM) strain not approved by the country's agriculture ministry. Shipments totaling 545,000 tonnes were found to contain the unapproved MIR162, a strain of insect-resistant transgenic corn, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in a statement, carried by Chinese News Agency (Xinhua). The administration said local entry-exit inspection and quarantine bureaus have returned the batches and it has notified the US authority. It urged the US authority to improve its inspection procedures to ensure that they comply with Chinese quality standards.