Biotech Updates

Brazil's CTNBio Approves New GM Corn

December 19, 2008

CTNBio, the Brazilian National Biosafety Technical Committee, has approved the genetically modified corn Herculex I for commercial release in Brazil. The transgenic corn was jointly developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred and Dow AgroSciences. It is resistant to a broad spectrum of insect pests which feed on Brazilian corn, including the fall armyworm and sugarcane borer. The GM corn must still be approved by Brazil's Agriculture Ministry and the National Biosafety Council (CNBS) before it can be planted.

Herculex I is the sixth genetically modified variety of corn approved for commercial release in Brazil. CTNBio approved the cultivation of three transgenic corn lines, Monsanto’s YieldGard, Bayer’s LibertyLink and Syngenta’s Bt 11, late last year. The Committee's President, Walter Colli, noted that the commercial releases issued in Brazil so far are for products that are already in use in other countries for more than 10 years.

Read the press release (in Portuguese) at http://agenciact.mct.gov.br/index.php/content/view/50013.html