| EU To Pay for Contaminated Crops |
| Updated 12:13 PM ET June 9, 2000 |
BRUSSELS,
Belgium (AP) - European farmers who had to destroy rapeseed crops
contaminated by genetically modified seed will be fully reimbursed,
the European Commission said Friday.
"Farmers
should not suffer financially from a situation they were not
responsible for," said EU Agriculture Commissioner Franz
Fischler.
It was
discovered last month that hundreds of acres of arable land in
several EU nations, including France, Belgium, Britain, Sweden and
Finland, were contaminated after genetically modified seeds were
accidentally mixed with regular colza seeds.
Rapeseed oil
is marketed in the United States and Canada as canola oil.
The
genetically modified strain has rendered the crops unmarketable
because under EU law such foodstuffs cannot be sold to the public.
EU rules
provide for a payment to farmers of $79 per ton of rapeseed
harvested by June 30 at the latest. EU officials said although the
contaminated crops have been destroyed, farmers will still be paid
the subsidy.
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