EU Approves Herculex RW Corn for Food, Feed, Import and Processing

The European Union Commission today announced that it has approved two biotech corn products for food, feed, import and processing jointly developed by DuPont and Dow AgroSciences LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company.  Corn products containing the Herculex RW Rootworm Protection trait (also known as 59122 maize) and the Herculex I insect protection trait stacked with Roundup Ready Corn 2 (also known as 1507xNK603 maize) are now permitted for import into the European Union (EU).

"Today's approval is encouraging and we look forward to continued progress in the EU biotech approval process," said Dean Oestreich, DuPont vice president and general manager and president of Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business.  "We urge the Commission to ensure similar treatment for cultivation applications so that Europe's farmers can enjoy the same benefits as millions of other farmers around the world."

These products have been deemed safe by the EU's own independent scientific authority, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), and have already been approved in numerous other countries around the world.  Both products are now authorized for import into the EU in accordance with EU regulations, including the appropriate labeling and traceability of the products and their derivatives.

"These approvals tell us that the EU recognizes both the safety and benefits of our biotech products," said Dow AgroSciences President and CEO Jerome Peribere, "and the importance of a functioning approval process that ensures continued access to these products as important ingredients for animal feed for Europe's livestock producers."

Herculex RW has been genetically modified with the Bt trait to provide a means of protecting corn plants against destructive insect attacks with a reduced environmental footprint.  Herculex RW helps reduce pesticide applications and, because it produces more grain on the same land area, it improves farm productivity and profitability - sustainable agriculture in practice.

The Herculex I, Roundup Ready Corn 2 stack was developed from traditional breeding methods of two genetically modified corn lines (1507 maize and NK603 maize) and contains no new genetic modifications.  Herculex(R) I and Roundup Ready(R) Corn 2 were approved by the EU for food, feed, import and processing in March 2006 and March 2005, respectively.