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Last week the Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority received information through the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed that rice with unauthorised genetic modification could occur on the Czech market. The State Veterinary and Food Administration of the Slovak Republic detained 7660 kilograms of rice with genetic modification LL RICE 601. Rice was packaged to consumers packaging by Czech company  Podravka - Lagris a.s., based in Dolní Lhota at Luhačovice, however, raw material was purchased from Italian supplier.  

During a follow-up control at the company Podravka-Lagris, a.s., CAFIA inspectors found out that more than 24 tons of this rice has been imported from company MARIC S.R.L. based in Italy and that the Italian supplier declared that this rice is free from any genetic modifications. In addition to the Slovak product, two more products intended for the Czech market have been produced of this rice. Namely, they are EUROSHOPPER Long-grained Rice – cooking bags (400g package, batch number 2101082, best before 21 July 2009) and Long-grained Rice – cooking bags (480g package, batch number 2201081, best before 22 July 2009).  

Almost 38 thousand packages of this rice thus leaked on the Czech market. The Inspection Authority banned further sale of this rice and the company Podravka-Lagris, a.s. now has to withdraw this rice from the retail network. Genetic modification LL RICE 601 is not authorised in the EU, not even in feedstuffs. The modification was developed by American company Bayer Crop Science. In the past, rice with this modification occurred several times on the European market, therefore in 2006 the European Commission adopted extraordinary measures related to import of rice from the USA.  

At the present time, in total 21 genetic modifications are authorised for food production in the EU; 5 modifications of cotton, 11 of maize, 3 of oil rape, and 1 of soy and sugar beet. Genetic modifications are approved by the European Commission, among others, on the basis of opinion of the European Food Safety Authority which examines whether the modification does not present health risk to humans. If any foodstuff was produced from genetically modified raw materials, this fact must be appropriately specified on the labelling. Cases when the foodstuff contains genetic modifications in the amount lower than 0,9% are the only exception.