[ti:Crunch Time for Food Makers Against New Maize for Fuel] [ar:Bob Doughty] [al:Agriculture Report] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]This is the VOA Special English [00:02.65]Agriculture Report. [00:04.35](SOUND) [00:10.39]Food companies say [00:11.92]a new kind of maize could [00:14.22]take the crunch out of corn chips [00:16.86]and other popular foods. [00:19.50]The big Swiss company [00:21.44]Syngenta genetically engineered [00:24.63]the maize to contain an enzyme [00:27.13]called alpha amylase. [00:29.92]The company says this enzyme [00:33.45]will help the crop produce [00:35.49]more ethanol, a renewable fuel, [00:38.42]while using less water and energy. [00:42.76]Syngenta official Jack Bernens [00:45.69]explains how it works. [00:47.53]JACK BERNENS: "it breaks [00:49.10]the starch down into sugar [00:50.60]which then is obviously [00:51.84]fermented into ethanol." [00:53.14]A two thousand seven law requires [00:56.07]gasoline in the United States [00:58.36]to contain renewable fuels. [01:01.15]About forty percent of America's [01:04.78]corn crop is being used [01:07.17]this year to make ethanol. [01:10.16]The Department of Agriculture [01:12.49]has approved the genetically [01:15.33]modified maize without restrictions. [01:18.23]But five major groups [01:21.17]in the food industry say [01:23.16]they are concerned that the new maize [01:26.35]could enter the food supply. [01:28.79]They are not expressing concerns [01:31.77]about food safety and have not opposed [01:35.85]other genetically engineered crops. [01:38.69]But in a joint statement they say [01:43.12]the enzyme that breaks down starch [01:45.91]could harm the taste of their products. [01:48.89]For example, they say it might [01:53.02]soften cereals and cause corn chips [01:56.75]to lose their satisfying crunch. [01:59.94]Mary Waters heads one of those food groups, [02:04.48]the North American Millers' Association. [02:07.96]She says even a small amount of the maize [02:13.29]could cause problems if it mixes [02:16.07]with corn used to make food. [02:19.16]MARY WATERS: "It would only take one kernel [02:20.55]in ten thousand to affect food processing." [02:23.29]Snack foods made with corn [02:25.99]are a six-billion-dollar industry [02:29.03]in the United States. [02:30.87]In two thousand one, [02:34.31]genetically modified corn made [02:37.40]by Syngenta was found in the food supply [02:41.15]chain without approval. [02:43.50]Syngenta paid a fine to the government. [02:47.03]Jim McCarthy, president [02:50.41]of the Snack Food Association, says [02:54.15]the incident caused no health problems. [02:57.08]JIM McCARTHY: "But it did cause major disruptions [02:59.47]in the availability of food-grade corn. [03:03.25]So we do think this will have a major impact. [03:05.94]And we're urging Syngenta to rethink this." [03:09.56]Syngenta says it will take measures [03:12.40]to keep the new maize out of the food supply. [03:15.84]Jack Bernens says the company [03:19.07]will sell seeds only to farmers [03:22.07]who take their crops to nearby [03:24.56]ethanol processing plants. [03:26.85]He says the company will not sell seed [03:31.08]in areas where food makers get their maize. [03:34.61]Mr. Bernens says the company [03:38.10]has done a lot of research and found that [03:41.88]the risk from a few kernels is overstated. [03:45.31]The food industry groups object [03:48.40]to conditions placed on companies that [03:51.34]want to study that research. [03:53.03]Syngenta says it has trade secrets to protect. [03:58.20]And that's the VOA Special English [04:02.53]Agriculture Report, written by [04:05.22]Jerilyn Watson and Steve Baragona . [04:08.61]I'm Bob Doughty.