http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/11/business/12CND-TACO.html Safeway Recalls Taco Shells After Test Questions Corn Origin By ANDREW POLLACK The unapproved genetically engineered corn connected with a nationwide recall of taco shells has been found in a second brand of shells as well, a coalition of biotechnology food critics said Wednesday night. The coalition, Genetically Engineered Food Alert, said it had found the unapproved corn in house-brand taco shells sold by the Safeway supermarket chain. The new discovery, if confirmed, would indicate that the contamination of the food supply extends beyond the Taco Bell brand taco shells recently recalled from grocery stores by Kraft Foods after they were found to contain genetically engineered StarLink corn. The corn, which contains a bacterial toxin that kills insects, was approved by the Environmental Protection Agency for use as animal feed but not for human consumption because of concerns that the toxin could cause allergic reactions. After Kraft's recall, Aventis S.A., the developer of the corn, said it would discontinue sales of StarLink seeds and, in cooperation with the federal government, would buy all of this year's harvest to keep the corn from getting into the food supply. The report of further contamination could put more pressure on the Food and Drug Administration, which has said it would begin testing other foods made with corn. The fact that the new contamination was found by the same coalition that discovered the StarLink in the Kraft shells is likely to lead to renewed criticism that the F.D.A. is moving too slowly. ``This is the second contamination incident in one month,'' said Larry Bohlen, director of health and environment programs at Friends of the Earth, a member of the coalition who was in charge of testing the foods. ``The F.D.A. is doing a terrible job.'' Mr. Bohlen called on Safeway to follow the example of Kraft Foods and recall the taco shells. A Safeway spokeswoman did not immediately return calls seeking comment. It is not clear if the corn flour in the Safeway taco shells came from the same mill in Plainview, Texas, that was determined to be the source of the flour in the Kraft shells. But the company that owns that mill, Azteca Milling, claims to be the nation's largest producer of the type of corn flour used in tortillas and taco shells, and the Plainview mill is its largest plant. Mr. Bohlen said the Safeway taco shells tested were purchased at a supermarket in the suburbs of Washington. He said it was the only one of 14 corn-based foods tested to be found to contain the StarLink gene. The first round of tests, which found the Kraft taco shells, was done on 23 products, including breakfast cereals, corn chips, corn meal, muffin mix and enchilada frozen dinners, Mr. Bohlen said. This time, he said, the 14 items tested were things that ``more like tacos'' though he would not identify the specific products. The tests were conducted for the coalition by Genetic ID, a testing company in Fairfield, Iowa, that was started by a prominent critic of bioengineered foods. Genetic ID has defended the objectivity of its tests, and its initial findings about the Kraft taco shells were confirmed by Kraft and by the F.D.A. No one has determined how the StarLink corn got into the Kraft taco shells. There is speculation that farmers sold the corn for human food rather than for animal feed to get a higher price. It could also have been an inadvertent mixup. It has also not been clear how widespread the contamination is. Kraft, however, apparently found contamination in many production lots over more than one month, indicating the contamination was likely more than a single errant truckload. Aventis has said that StarLink was grown on only about 315,000 acres, or less than half of one percent of American corn acreage. While the StarLink toxin has some characteristics of known allergens, it has not been established that it actually does cause allergies, and some experts doubt it does. There have been anecdotal reports of people having reactions to the taco shells but none has been confirmed. Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company
