USDA official claims GM food is safe

(ECNS) – An official at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has said that eating genetically modified (GM) food is safe, according to Xinhuanet.com.

Michael Schechtman, biotechnology coordinator for the USDA, made the remarks Tuesday in Beijing. He said GM food has been eaten for over 20 years in the US, and that no safety issues connected to it have been found.

According to Schechtman, over 90 percent of the soybeans and corn in the US are transgenic, and over two thirds of food products on the market contain GMO ingredients.

"My colleagues and I eat GM food every day," he said.

China is one of the major importers of the US's soybeans and corn. In 2013, the US exported 24.6 million tons of soybean and 4 million tons of corn to China.