University applies to renew GM rice certificates

(ECNS) -- China's developers of certified genetically modified (GM) rice have applied to renew their safety certificates before they expire on Sunday, but the applications have not been approved.

They include certificates for two kinds of GM rice and one type of Monsanto brand GM corn, the only three types of GM food that still have national GM certificates.

"We submitted documents to the Ministry of Agriculture long before the expiration date," said Lin Yongjun, a professor at the Wuhan-based Huazhong Agricultural University and a leading GM rice developer.

Lin said they had provided documents containing experimental data in order to prove the safety of GM rice. He also said that applications for other GM rice types had been prepared.

GM rice certificates have no fixed period of validity, he said. "The former ones are valid for five years. Three to ten years are all possible."

Lin added that it took them 11 years to obtain the former two GM rice certificates.

Having a certificate is a crucial step in receiving permission to sell GM products. At present no GM grain products are permitted to be sold in China, but GM papaya and cotton are permitted.