China’s agriculture ministry “vowed zero tolerance and harsh punishments for illegal sales and growing of genetically modified (GM) crops days after media exposure of GM rice on sale at a supermarket in central China,” says China Daily. Biotech rice is not approved for use in the country. However, a television network said tests found GM rice in three of five packs of rice picked at random from a supermarket in Wuhan, in Hubei Province in central China. China Central Television said there was evidence of GM rice being sold in three neighboring provinces.
China has taken a wary approach to biotech crops. It allows imports of genetically engineered corn and soybeans but does not allow domestic production or sale of GM crops including rice. It has approved use of biotech varieties of cotton, peppers, tomatoes and papayas. Import authorities have rejected hundreds of thousands of tons of U.S. corn in the past year on grounds the cargoes included a variety not approved for sale in the country.