USDA gives green light to amylase corn production.
http://www.farmandranchguide.com/news/regional/usda-gives-green-light-to-amylase-corn-production/article_76fa060e-3f04-11e0-b12e-001cc4c002e0.html
There has been a flurry of activity during the past three weeks at the USDA on issuing regulations for genetically engineered crops.
The latest action involved the deregulation of alpha-amylase corn, which is genetically engineered to produce an enzyme that breaks down starch into sugar, which improves ethanol production. Earlier the agency had given approval, to varying degrees, to Roundup Ready alfalfa and sugarbeets.
In making the alpha-amylase corn announcement on Feb. 11, Michael Gregoire, deputy administrator for the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said in a statement, “APHIS conducted a plant pest risk assessment and found this line of corn does not pose a plant pest risk, and should no longer be subject to regulation by APHIS.
Syngenta Seeds, Inc. had requested back in 2005 that APHIS grant nonregulated status to its alpha-amylase corn. In 2008, APHIS prepared a plant pest risk assessment as required by the Plant Protection Act, plus an environmental assessment in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act.
At that time both of these documents were made available for public review and comment. Since then APHIS has received more than 13,000 comments.
The APHIS statement recognized that certain milling and food-processing groups have concerns about this corn variety being deregulated and potential impacts on wet-milling operations. But the agency was also pleased that these segments of the industry expressing opposition continue to have dialogue with Syngenta on research and testing efforts, and encourages these parties to continue their efforts to resolve the issues that remain.
Syngenta will market the corn seed with the amylase trait as Enogen corn seed and some of that seed will be available for this growing season.
“Enogen corn seed offers growers an opportunity to cultivate a premium specialty crop. It is a breakthrough product that provides U.S. ethanol producers with a proven means to generate more gallons of ethanol from their existing facilities,” said Davor Pisk, Syngenta’s chief operating officer said upon hearing of the APHIS decision. “Enogen corn also reduces the energy and water consumed in the production process while substantially reducing carbon emissions.”
However, not everyone was enthusiastic about the announcement of deregulation, since it raises concerns about potential contamination of food corn crops. The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) claims that the deregulation could have serious consequences for the U.S. food industry, with cross-contamination of non-GE corn “a virtual certainty.”
“The USDA’s decision defies common sense,” said Margaret Mellon, director of UCS’s Food and Environment Program. “There is no way to protect food corn crops from contamination by ethanol corn. Even with the most stringent precautions, the wind will blow and standards will slip. In this case, there are no required precautions.”
UCS scientists claim that one kernel in 10,000 could “affect viscosity in standard food processes,” meaning that contamination could cause “corn snacks to be too fluffy to fit in a standard bag, corn batter to be too thin to coat corn dogs and corn bread to be too soggy in the middle.”
The National Corn Growers Association expressed it appreciation for the APHIS decision and indicated it could be a building block on which other traits will be looked at.
“Corn amylase is the first processing output trait to be scrutinized by our regulatory system,” said Bart Schott, NCGA president and a grower from Kulm, N.D. “The potential importance of output traits to growers and the industry will only increase as other output traits are developed.”
These new output traits will benefit growers in their pocketbooks, according to NCGA’s Trade Policy and Biotechnology Action Team chairman Chad Blindauer, a farmer from Mitchell, S.D.
“All output traits will be value-added crops that have the potential to allow growers to raise a product that could be beneficial to their farms in ways that are not possible right now,” Blindauer said. “We are pleased the U.S. regulatory system continues to provide growers with planting choices for their operations.”
North Dakota’s Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring called the decision to deregulate the new corn variety a victory for both producers and the ethanol industry. Goehring earlier this year urged federal officials to expedite the decision.
“Deregulating alpha-amylase corn gives growers another option for the upcoming growing season and beyond,” he said. “The new corn variety will greatly benefit the ethanol industry because it increases the efficiency of fermentation.”
David Morgan, president of Syngenta Seeds, gave an idea of the magnitude that increased fermentation efficiency provides. For example, in a 100-million gallon plant, efficiency improvements enabled by Enogen corn can save 450,000 gallons of water, 1.3 million kilowatt hours of electricity and 244 billion BTUs of natural gas, the equivalent power to heat several thousand homes while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 106 million pounds.
Morgan noted that Enogen has been tested extensively at Western Plains Energy in Oakley, Kan. The most visible result that plant has seen is an eight percent increase in ethanol production combined with an eight percent reduction in natural gas consumption.
For the upcoming growing season, Syngenta plans to work with a small number of ethanol plants and corn growers in close proximity and prepare for larger scale commercial introduction in 2012. Production of Enogen corn will be managed by Syngenta using a contracted, closed production system.
Nearly one-third of the corn produced in the United States is used in ethanol production. Canada approved Enogen for cultivation in 2008, following extensive review. It has been approved for import into Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Mexico, the Philippines, Russia and Taiwan.
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