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Biotech / Medical : Monsanto Co. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (2163)	6/14/1999 9:28:00 AM
From: jopawa	Respond to of 2539

Monday June 14, 7:22 am Eastern Time Rallis , Monsanto in farm venture BOMBAY, June 14 (Reuters) - Rallis India Ltd said on Monday it had signed an agreement with the wholly-owned subsidiary of U.S. firm Monsanto Co to provide technical inputs, farm management training and other services. Rallis is an agrochemicals firm with a wide distribution network in India. It makes insecticides and fungicides. Monsanto is a leader in herbicides and seed business. ''Together the companies are in a unique position to transfer emerging technologies and expertise to the farmer,'' Rallis said in a statement. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- More Quotes and News: MONSANTO CO (NYSE:MTC - news) Related News Categories: US Market News -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. See our Important Disclaimers and Legal Information. Questions or Comments?

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (2163)	6/14/1999 9:30:00 AM
From: jopawa	Respond to of 2539

Monday June 14, 5:08 am Eastern Time Spanish shippers say hard to segregate GM foods By David Brough LISBON, June 14 (Reuters) - Spanish grain shippers said it was very hard to give guarantees to consumers that foods were free of genetically modified (GM) ingredients. They said laboratory facilities for testing the GM content of grains and oilseeds were scarce in Iberia, making it hard to reassure food processors and retailers that their raw materials did not include GM varieties. The Spanish subsidiary of leading food group Nestle SA has banned use of GM ingredients due to consumer concerns over possible health risks. Pryca Espana, a hypermarkets unit of French retailer Carrefour , and the franchisees of Burger King in Spain and Portugal have asked suppliers not to use GM ingredients. ''You cannot segregate crops, and you cannot analyse them easily for GM content, so how can you guarantee to the consumer that he is not really eating GM produce?'' said one shipper. U.S. grain exporters say it is too costly to segregate GM from non-GM varieties. At the annual meeting of the Spanish Association of Cereals and Oilseeds Merchants in Madrid last week, officials of life sciences groups Monsanto (NYSE:MTC - news) and Novartis said it was practically impossible to prevent the wind from carrying pollen from GM crops to nearby fields, delegates said. Spanish shippers attending the event said that in many cases the only way to analyse a truckload of grain for its GM content was to send off a sample for analysis in a foreign laboratory, which was time-consuming and expensive. They also expressed bewilderment that the debate on GM foods in Spain and Portugal had centred on maize, even though imports of GM soybeans had been entering both countries for years. Spanish and Portuguese grain importers have avoided U.S. maize for months amid concerns it might include GM varieties not yet approved by the European Union in unsegregated cargoes. But consumers in Iberia are eating packets of popcorn imported directly from the U.S. without any guarantee that the product does not contain unapproved GM strains. EU rules which demand the labelling of foods as to their GM content are rarely implemented in Spain and Portugal because of confusion over testing procedures and the lack of a minimum threshold for GM content, grain shippers said. At a debate at Lisbon's Science Museum last week, analysts said Portuguese people were waking up to food safety issues and wanted to be better informed about possible health and environmental risks from GM foods. Crops are genetically modified to increase resistance to pests, disease and drought, and proponents say they will transform 21st century farming with bigger yields and better nutritional content. Critics say they fear GM seeds could affect human health and hurt the environment via cross-pollination. They say some GM crops could introduce allergens, reduce resistance to antibiotics and wipe out local ecosystems. For latest Iberian grain prices, click enter on page . -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- More Quotes and News: MONSANTO CO (NYSE:MTC - news) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. See our Important Disclaimers and Legal Information. Questions or Comments?