FARGO, N.D. A group critical of genetically modified crops say North Dakota State University's Foundation Seedstocks Program has been contaminated with genetically modified crops, so perhaps it cannot be trusted to segregate GM and non-GM wheat seed.

NDSU officials acknowledge a problem occurred, but say it was properly handled. They say soybean and wheat programs are not regulated the same for GM characteristics, and that proper precautions are in place.

Theresa Podoll, executive director of the Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society, sent out a news release Nov. 11 saying the NDSU's non-GMO, Natto-type soybeans planted in 2002 may have been contaminated with GM beans. Natto beans are specialty soybeans destined for premium food grade markets. The society includes 367 members, largely from North Dakota but including neighboring states and provinces. Most are certified organic producers, but some are in the organic grain trade, or even land-grant universities and agencies. The group has been a strong opponent of the commercialization of GM wheat, much of which must be exported to countries and buyers who don't want it.

Natto is a Japanese food product made from fermented whole soybeans. The Japanese steam and ferment the beans and add a bacteria to make a baked-type product. Nornatto and Nannonatto are two NDSU varieties, both released for commercial use in January. Two lots of non-GMO Natto beans were found contaminated with Monsanto's Roundup Ready soybean genetics, Podoll says. NDSU officials say sufficient steps have been taken to minimize the problem and avoid repeating it.

"In soybeans, we make every effort to prevent contamination and if it occurs we correct it," says M. Dale Williams, director of NDSU Foundation Seedstocks. "Roundup Ready are two different animals," Williams says. "Roundup Ready soybeans are not regulated. Small amounts of it, or tolerances of amounts, are allowed in most markets. It's not approached with the same amount of diligence as Roundup Ready wheat."

Natto beans

The soybean contamination occurred in the winter of 2000 to '01, when the Natto beans were sent to Chile for seed increase. The seeds then were shipped to North Dakota in 2001 and planted at NDSU's Agronomy Seed Farm near Casselton. Those fields produced some off-type plants, but GMO was not suspected, Williams says. Later, when some of the larger, off-type seeds were "scalped" off to be discarded, some of them tested positive for GMO. Natto beans are characteristically small.

Foundation seed from "rogued" 2001 fields were tested and no GMO was detected, Williams says. In 2002, seeds from those fields were sold to about 10 growers who would plant them for export or seed increase. When the Agronomy Seed Farm produced its own seed in 2002, it again was screened for size and again there were GMO positives in the large seeds. In late October, Williams phoned the 2002 customers to inform them "there could be a minor presence" in lots they were sold.

"Although we did not anticipate that the minor amounts that were indicated by what we'd found in our fields would ever be enough to be detected in very sensitive tests, we wanted them to know so that the 'scalpings' of very largest seed should not be saved because they might have the presence of the transgenics in them."

Williams says the response from the growers was "very positive," that they were glad to be informed.

PrecautionsWilliams says any contamination was in the seed from Chile. NDSU suspects the cooperating Chilean company that produced the seeds, possibly by not cleaning combines. "The seed we got from Chile had the contamination in it. They could have been careless in a number of steps," Williams says.

He says NDSU has changed Chilean cooperators and is starting to test advanced breeding lines as a potential precaution.

Podoll says Williams told her there would be more on-site inspections of cooperators. "That raises the issue of who's going to pay those costs," Podoll says.

She says foundation seedstocks should develop its own set of protocols on how to avoid such contamination, and how to handle contamination when it occurs.

Williams says sufficient precautions are in place. He says the program has increased cold storage stocks of non-GMO soybean breeder seed by six times.

"We have sufficient stocks to go back into immediate production with a clean source, if a presence is detected," Williams says.

Starting in 2002, the program started testing all its breeder seed and all production. Foundation seedstocks are literally the "foundation for entire seed system," Podoll says. She says contamination "strikes at the very heart of the segregation argument."

Podoll says she's troubled by the fact that the "decision to destroy these foundation lots has not been made," despite "statements made, early this spring, that if foundation seedstocks were to become contaminated with transgenic varieties that they would be destroyed."

Podoll says, "It looks like they intend to go ahead with putting them on the market and not recalling them, and/or destroying any seedstocks they have in their possession at this time."

Drastic measuresTed Helms, an NDSU soybean breeder who developed NDSU's Natto bean varieities, says such drastic measures probably would not applied to soybeans, but would involve wheat seeds, because GM wheat seed cannot be legally exported.

Robert B. Sinner, president of SB&B Foods Inc. of Casselton, who specializes in identity-preserved shipments of food grade soybeans, acknowledges contamination is a problem. He says the North Dakota State Seed Department must take precautionary measures when certifying and registering seed to "not only verify purity of the variety but also whether it's free of contamination of transgenics."

NDSU, from its initial varietal work, needs to take very strict management procedures and do regular testing to maintain purity, Sinner suggests.

"All the money that is spent to send those increases to Chile are all for naught if it's contaminated," Sinner says.

Sinner says he would be disturbed if NDSU planned to continue to market contaminated seed as certified or registered. "That, to me, goes against the principles of certified and registered seed. You've lost your purity," Sinner says.

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