Kraft withdraws GMO-contaminated tacos

Kraft Foods on Friday announced a voluntary recall of Taco Bell brand taco shells that are sold in U.S. grocery stores after independent tests confirmed that the products contain traces of a genetically modified corn variety that is not approved for human consumption. The Northfield, Ill. company said it is voluntarily recalling all Taco Bell Home Originals taco shell products sold nationwide; the recall does not affect sales in Taco Bell restaurants. Kraft also announced that it "will discontinue production of the taco shell products until it can be assured that the raw materials and finished products provided by its suppliers are in full compliance with all regulatory requirements." Kraft said that it has launched an investigation to determine how StarLink Bt corn, which is manufactured by Aventis and marketed only for use as animal feed, entered the human food chain. The company said that it purchases the taco shells from Sabritas Mexicali (Mexicali, Mexico), a wholly-owned subsidiary of PepsiCo Inc. Sabritas purchases corn flour for the product from Azteca Milling L.P., which processes the flour in its Plainview, Texas mill.

Kraft emphasized that there appears to be no evidence of adverse health effects from consumption of StarLink corn. However, because the presence of StarLink corn in consumer products was first detected by tests commissioned by anti-biotechnology activists, not Kraft or FDA, the incident is likely to put severe pressure on FDA to impose more stringent regulations on agricultural biotechnology. Representative Dennis Kucinich, the sponsor of legislation that seeks to require extensive pre-market approval of genetically modified products, said the contamination is evidence of "FDA's oversight failure." He and 15 other members of Congress sent a letter to FDA Commissioner Jane Henney demanding prompt action to prevent the marketing of foods containing unapproved ingredients. ...