In November 1996, Northrup King Co. agreed to pay a US$165,200 fine to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for importing, producing, selling and distributing an unregistered pesticide P genetically engineered corn containing Bacillus thurgiensis (Bt). This was EPA's first legal action involving a genetically engineered plant pesticide.

According to EPA, the company's activities violated the U.S. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act and included failing to file with EPA the required paperwork for importing the Bt corn, and producing the pesticide at eight unregistered facilities during 1994-95.

Northrup King, a Sandoz Seeds subsidiary based in Minnesota, maintains that they had been working with the EPA to obtain registration for their Bt corn and expected approval last spring. However, in order to have as much seed as possible to sell to U.S. growers, the company shipped seed to Chile for winter production and brought the increased volumes back to the U.S. for packaging and sale. A company spokesperson stated that the federal process took longer than expected, and therefore Northrup King was in "technical violation" by letting its production get ahead of registration. The originally proposed fine of US$208,500 was reduced by 20% because of what EPA officials called the company's "cooperation and good faith efforts to come into compliance."

Northrup King's Bt corn, developed in collaboration with Monsanto using its Yieldgard technology, was registered on August 5, 1996, and the company has been selling seed to U.S. farmers since then for next season's plantings. According to reports, the company expected to sell out by the end of the 1996, and is projecting 500,000 to one million acres planted with the company's seed by next spring.

Sources: Agrow: World Crop Protection News, November 15, November 29 & December 13, 1996; EPA News Release, Region 5, November 4, 1996; Minneapolis Star Tribune, November 7, 1996; The Gene Exchange, December 1996; Preventing Pesticide- related Illness in California Agriculture, William Pease, et al., 1993; Pesticides in the Home and Community: Health risks and policy alternatives, J.C. Robinson et al., 1994.

Contact: PANNA