European Union Approves Corn Stack with Herculex® RW and Roundup
Ready® 2 Traits for Food, Feed, Import and Processing
The European Commission announced that it has approved a biotech corn product for food, feed,
import and processing jointly developed by DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred and Dow
AgroSciences LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dow Chemical Company. Corn products
containing the Herculex® RW protection trait stacked with Roundup Ready® Corn 2 (also known
as 59122/NK603) are now permitted for import into the European Union (EU).
Brussels, Belgium (Vocus) November 2, 2009 -- The European Commission announced that it has approved a
biotech corn product for food, feed, import and processing jointly developed by DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred
and Dow AgroSciences LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dow Chemical Company. Corn products
containing the Herculex® RW protection trait stacked with Roundup Ready® Corn 2 (also known as
59122/NK603) are now permitted for import into the European Union (EU).
“We are encouraged by this approval and look forward to continued progress of biotech approvals in the EU,”
said Pioneer Hi-Bred President Paul E. Schickler. “We urge the Commission and EU Member States to similarly
approve biotech crops for cultivation so Europe’s farmers have access to the same technologies as other farmers
around the world.”
Products containing the stacked trait (59122/NK603) were assessed to be safe for use in food and feed by the
EU’s own independent scientific authority, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), in December 2008, and
already have been approved in eight countries around the world. Pending publication in the Official Journal in the
coming days, this product now is authorized for import into the EU in accordance with EU regulations, including
the appropriate labeling and traceability of the products and their derivatives.
Herculex® RW contains the Bt trait to provide an environmentally improved means of protecting corn plants
against attacks by the cor