The case of a genetically engineered variety of maize that escaped detection by U.S. and European Union authorities for four years illustrates weaknesses in the safety and regulatory systems on both sides of the Atlantic, say critics.
Syngenta AG, the Swiss agrochemical and seed company at the centre of the controversy, has been fined 375,000 dollars by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for selling Bt10, an unauthorised genetically modified (GM) variety of maize, to U.S. farmers from 2001 to 2004.