GE Wheat Found in Washington

The USDA is investigating the discovery of Genetically Engineered wheat growing in an unplanted field in Washington.  APHIS officials said the wheat in question is resistant to glyphosate, but there is no evidence the wheat in question entered the food supply.  USDA is working with state, industry and trading partners, to determine from where the wheat came.

This is the second time in three years Genetically Engineered wheat has been discovered in Washington.  In 2013, GE wheat was discovered in Oregon, which brought swift trade retaliation from Japan and South Korea.  There are no GE wheat varieties for sale or in commercial production in the United States at this time.

U.S. Wheat Associates and the National Association of Wheat Growers released the following statement after APHIS announced it's investigation.  We believe APHIS is well prepared to identify additional information about this discovery and has confirmed to us that:

·         there is no evidence suggesting that this wheat event, or any other GM wheat event has entered U.S. commercial supplies or entered the food supply;

·         there are no GE wheat varieties for sale or in commercial production in the United States at this time, as APHIS has not deregulated any GE wheat varieties;

·         there is no health risk associated with glyphosate resistance events in wheat based on U.S. Food and Drug Administration evaluations.

We appreciate that USDA is collaborating with our organizations and our state, industry and trading partners to provide timely and transparent information about their findings as they investigate this discovery. We understand samples of the wheat plants from the field in Washington were sent to the USDA Federal Grain Inspection Service lab in Kansas City, MO, as well as USDA Agricultural Research lab in Pullman, WA, for testing and confirmation.

We cannot speculate or comment about any potential market reactions until we learn more from APHIS and have a chance to discuss the situation in more detail with overseas customers. Based on what we know today from APHIS, we are confident that nothing has changed the U.S. wheat supply chain’s ability to deliver wheat that matches every customer’s specifications.

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