Japan approves the consumption of genetically modified corn and soybean

Lead: Tokyo (Reuters) - Japan's health department announced on Wednesday that it has approved three kinds of genetically modified corn and soybeans that can be safely used for human consumption, thus paving the way for the import of more genetically modified food The approved crops are insect resistant and herbicide resistant transgenic corn, named herculex I - this variety is from F Dow Chemical Co, an American Chemical Company, and the other two herbicide resistant transgenic soybean varieties are French German Pharmaceutical Group and biotechnology giant Aventis SA As a result, the number of GM crops approved for consumption in Japan has risen to 43, which are distributed in six crop areas - corn, soybeans, sugar beets, potatoes, rapeseed and cotton Transgenic crops contain genetic genes transplanted from another organism, which can give plants some herbicide resistance or make crops have the ability to produce toxins and kill pests The opposition to gene crops says there is not enough research to ensure that new biotechnology is not harmful to the environment or public health Japan is the world's largest importer of agricultural products Six years ago, when American farmers began to accept new biotechnology, Japan began to import genetically modified crops In order to alleviate consumers' concerns about the safety of genetically modified food, the Japanese government established a new system in April 2001 to implement zero tolerance for the imported genetically modified products containing unapproved ingredients, and to require the food containing approved ingredients of genetically modified crops to implement mandatory labeling The United States is the world's largest producer of genetically modified crops and the largest supplier of food and oil crops in Japan Each year, Japan imports about 16 million tons of corn and 4.8 million tons of soybeans.