March 7, 2000

The U.S. Grains Council denounced Japanese plans for a zero tolerance policy on grain shipments containing genetically modified products that have not been approved by the Japanese government.

The U.S. group said Japan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare will reject shipments with even minuscule amounts of unapproved genetically modified organisms. Other countries have considered tolerance limits, such as 1% or 0.1%, to allow for accidental contamination of non-GMO lots with modified products. A true "zero" GMO level is considered impractical by most grain trade sources.