U.S. Says Genetically Modified Wheat Found in Montana

By Tennille Tracy 

WASHINGTON--Genetically engineered wheat has surfaced at a second unauthorized location in the U.S., the Agriculture Department said Friday, renewing calls for congressional oversight over the testing system for modified crops.

The Agriculture Department said it launched an investigation into genetically engineered plants discovered in July at Montana State University's Southern Agricultural Research Center.

The announcement comes as the USDA wraps up a monthslong investigation into the first unauthorized appearance of genetically engineered wheat, discovered on a farm in Oregon in 2013. The agency said Friday that it couldn't determine how the wheat got on the 125-acre Oregon farm but that it appeared to be an isolated incident.

The Agriculture Department allows genetically engineered wheat to be tested at sites across the U.S. but it hasn't approved the grain for commercial production. While field tests of modified wheat were conducted at the Montana site between 2000 and 2003, the plants discovered in July weren't supposed to be there.

The appearance of unapproved plants prompts U.S. trading partners to lose confidence in the domestic supply. When unauthorized plants were discovered in Oregon, both Japan and South Korea imposed temporary bans on U.S. wheat.

"If the U.S. wheat market were to show signs of [genetically engineered] wheat, it could have a major impact on our ability to trade wheat in critical locations around the world," said Bernadette Juarez, a director of investigative and enforcement services at the USDA.

The wheat found in both Oregon and Montana had been genetically engineered by Monsanto Co. to withstand the herbicide known as glyphosate. The cases are unrelated, however, the USDA said.

Monsanto said it is cooperating with the Agriculture Department's latest inquiry.

"We continuously review our processes and procedures to improve them, including site selection, field trial isolation, and verification and auditing of field trial locations," said Philip Miller, head of Monsanto's global regulatory affairs.

The Montana State University research center doesn't operate as a commercial farm so there should be less cause for concern among importers of U.S. wheat, Ms. Juarez said.

"We see the situation in Montana and Oregon as being very different," she said.

Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety, which questions the safety of genetically engineered crops, said the USDA appears ill-equipped to manage the system for testing modified crops and called for Congress to look into the process.

"If you don't know how something happens, you don't know how to prevent it," Mr. Kimbrell said.

Write to Tennille Tracy at [e-mail]