The whole biotech corn scare started when traces of StarLink were discovered in taco shells bought from a Maryland grocery store in September and has since spawned nationwide recalls of some 300 kinds of corn snacks, yellow corn shells and cornmeal. No one seems to know for sure how the corn made its way into the products, but Kraft Foods has determined the StarLink variety had been grown during the 1999 season and milled at a plant in Plainview, Texas. Officials at the plant said they have no idea where the unapproved corn came from and Peter Pitts, of Mission Foods, the country's largest producer of tortilla products, said his company also doesn't have any clear answers about StarLink contamination. Earlier, though, on September 26, Aventis had already suspended sales of StarLink technology to seed companies licensed to create the corn. Aventis and the USDA continue to buy back as much of the autumn StarLink harvest as possible to prevent it from tainting the food supply.
Experts believe about a million bushels are still out there - somewhere.
Goldburg is among those who hope the issue forces regulators to put a better system in place to monitor all genetically modified foods, known as GM foods. But there are already about 45 GM foods and there will be many more to come. We desperately need a science-based peer review program. Pages will open in a new browser window External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive. All Rights Reserved.