Canada Newswire Attention News/Food Editors: Media Advisory - The federal government reports on measures it has taken to keep StarLink(TM) corn out of Canada OTTAWA, Dec. 11 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada has responded to questions about measures taken to prevent StarLink(TM) corn from entering Canada. StarLink(TM) corn is not approved for any use in Canada. Greenpeace submitted a number of questions through a petition process administered by the Office of the Auditor General and the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development. The government response to Greenpeace was developed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Canadian Grain Commission (CGC), Health Canada, the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Environment Canada, and the department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. The regulation of biotechnology in Canada is founded on a thorough, science-based system that applies rigorous food, environmental and animal health safety assessments to new products, including those derived through biotechnology. When Canada was first informed that StarLink(TM) corn had made its way into the U.S. food system without approval for human consumption, the Government of Canada acted quickly, in cooperation with U.S. authorities to protect Canada's food, grain, seed and feed supply systems. The Government of Canada takes any violations of regulations it enforces very seriously and pursues appropriate actions to protect Canadian consumers and our environment. Accordingly, the Canadian government, with cooperation from U.S. authorities and importers of corn products continue to take appropriate measures to prevent StarLink(TM) corn from entering Canada. The federal government appreciates having this opportunity to respond to this petition from Greenpeace and recognizes the important contribution of this dialogue to the ongoing public debate regarding the regulation of biotechnology derived products. The following document outlines the government's actions in response to the StarLink(TM) situation. The complete petition response is available on the CFIA Web site at: www.inspection.gc.ca. The federal government reports on measures it has taken to keep StarLink(TM) corn out of Canada The Government of Canada issued, on December 10, 2001, a detailed response to questions regarding its actions to prevent StarLink(TM) , a biotechnology derived corn product, from entering Canada from the United States. StarLink(TM) corn has never been approved in Canada for release into the environment, animal feed, seed, or human food. In September, 2000, StarLink(TM) corn was reported to have made its way into the U.S. food supply, despite having been approved only for use as animal feed. By the end of that month, Aventis CropScience, the producer of StarLink(TM) corn, had announced a halt to the sale of seeds for the 2001 growing season, and had withdrawn the U.S. registration for StarLink(TM) corn varieties. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) immediately began a strict tracking and recovery program of the 2000 corn crop and the U.S food industry began to recall foods that may have contained StarLink(TM). At the same time, the Government of Canada began watching the U.S. situation closely. Health Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) -- Canada's food safety watchdog -- and the Canadian Grain Commission, began monitoring the situation for its implications to Canada. The CFIA and the CGC monitored U.S. product recalls to determine whether implicated products were exported to Canada. The Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) also participated by providing valuable information about the movement of U.S. corn products. By the time StarLink(TM) began to be suspected in imported U.S. corn products, the CFIA and the CGC had initiated enhanced monitoring and surveillance activities which are detailed in a series of advisories to industry. The industry advisories are available on-line at the CFIA Web site www.inspection.gc.ca. Since that time, the CFIA and the CGC have examined documents associated with thousands of U.S. corn shipments - these documents provide certification of U.S. laboratory tests confirming that StarLink(TM) corn has not been detected. In addition, hundreds of seed, feed, grain and food product samples have been tested by the CFIA or the CGC resulting in a number of investigations, one of which concluded with the disposal of grain for export, two that resulted in the disposal of one seed and one feed lot, and one that initiated the recall of four imported U.S. food products. The StarLink(TM) situation posed a real and significant challenge for all those involved in feed, grain, seed and food supply systems. Specifically, this situation provided the opportunity for governments and industry to begin modernizing the regulatory systems that will be required to manage increasingly complex products of biotechnology. The Government of Canada's response to the petition is available on each responding department's Web site and on the CFIA Web site by clicking here: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/ppc/biotech/tech/greenstare.shtml Links to other responding departments/agencies: http://canada.gc.ca/directories/internet_e.html For further information: media may contact: Canadian Food Inspection Agency Media Relations: (613) 228-6682; Health Canada Media Relations: Ryan Baker, tel. (613) 941-8189; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Media Relations: (613) 759-7972; Canadian Grain Commission: Paul Graham (204) 983-2749; Foreign Affairs and International Trade Media Relations: tel. (613) 995-1874; Canada Customs and Revenue Agency: Michel Proulx, tel. (613) 946-3461; Environment Canada Media Relations: Michel Cléroux, Tel. (819) 953-4016 Canadian Food Inspection Agency has 372 releases in this database.