Food and Drug Administration has ordered the destruction of 500,000 bushels of soybeans because they were contaminated with genetically engineered corn that had been grown in the same field.
None of the soybeans made it into the food supply according to the FDA, which ordered the destruction of the soybeans before they were sold for food.
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The soybeans, which were grown by biotech company Prodigene, are estimated to be worth several million dollars.
Prodigene, which is attempting to grow medications including hepatitis B vaccine and an insulin-making enzyme inside kernels of corn, was one of several US biotech companies that recently agreed not to grow GE corn in places where it may contaminate nearby crops intended for the human food supply.
A test field of Prodigene corn was planted in the US Midwest, but the crop failed and Prodigene ploughed over the field and later planted it with normal soybeans. When the soybean crop was harvested, Prodigene discovered up to 65 grams of corn stalks in the 500,000 bushels of soybeans. The FDA was then notified and the crop was impounded, reported AP.
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