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Despite approving 29,000 field tests of genetically modified crops in the US,
regulators have failed to scrutinise them properly for potential risks, an
anti-GM group claimed last week. The Public Interest Research Group accused
government officials of rubber-stamping applications for field trials and
failing to examine basic safety issues, such as whether the modified genes are
likely to spread to other plants. The US Department of Agriculture has rejected
only 4 per cent of applications, all of them for minor paperwork errors, the
report says. The USDA did not return calls from New Scientist seeking
comment.