BEIJING - China's quality watchdog has destroyed or blocked the import of a wide range of foreign food and cosmetic products amid concerns that they posed potential health risks, it announced on its website.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) this week published blacklists of products from a number of nations including the United States, South Korea, Japan and New Zealand.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is weighing whether to allow a genetically engineered Atlantic salmon to be the first such animal to be sold as food. The following are four other genetically engineered animals in development or approved by the FDA.

ENVIROPIG

It's not every day that Monsanto gets shut down in court.

As of a recent court hearing, a multinational biotech company feels threatened, thousands of farmers in the Pacific Northwest see impeding doom, and half of the US sugar industry is potentially depleted. What could be causing all this ruckus? The sugar beet.

The writer is president, Consumers' Association of Penang and Sahabat Alam Malaysia.

The Consumers' Association of Penang (CAP) and Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) call upon the director-general of biosafety to reject the application for the field release of genetically engineered (GE) mosquitoes and all related experiments. We in Malaysia are being subjected to an experiment which could bring adverse effects to public health and the environment.

BRUSSELS - Europe slapped a summons on German chemical giant BASF on Monday after a "blunder" allowed seed from a new genetically modified potato to remain in a field in Sweden.

"Obviously there was a blunder which took place," said a spokeswoman for the European Commission, which is responsible for licensing products long labelled 'Frankenfoods' in media.

"The wrong potato was sent to Sweden," the spokeswoman said, triggering the summons to "explain" why "flowers" of Amadea, a GM crop currently being prepared by BASF, but which is not yet authorised, were found in the field.

Labeling, other regulations required by some states

FDA nears ruling on genetically engineered salmon, aka Frankenfish

The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is poised to rule on whether or not to approve the first genetically modified animal for human consumption. Just last week, FDA scientists said that the genetically altered salmon that is being evaluated is safe to eat and does not pose a threat to the environment, according to a September 7, 2010 Washington Post article.

FDA Considers Approval of GE Salmon–the First GE Food Animal–Yet Fails to Inform the Public of Environmental and Economic Risks

A coalition of 31 consumer, animal welfare and environmental groups, along with commercial and recreational fisheries associations and food retailers submitted a joint statement criticizing an announcement this week by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that it will potentially approve the long-shelved AquAdvantage transgenic salmon as the first genetically engineered (GE) animal intended for human consumption.

WATERVILLE — If you learn one thing after talking to Waterville-area wheat grower Tom Stahl, it’s that he’s opposed to genetically modified crops, especially the crop he grows: wheat.

Genetically modified crops are altered in a laboratory to improve desired traits, such as drought tolerance, herbicide resistance and higher yield.

Stahl said he has a lot of concerns: he’s not convinced genetically modified wheat is safe for people to eat, he fears oversupply and he doesn’t want farmers to be beholden to the Monsanto Co., a developer of genetically modified wheat.

In a landmark ruling published yesterday, the Paraná Federal Court revokes authorization for the commercial release of Bayer’s Liberty Link maize and censures CTNBio’s actions

Brazil | Rio de Janeiro | July 7 2010

At Bayer’s request, the company’s application for commercial release of its Liberty Link rice (LL62), genetically modified for tolerance to glufosinate ammonium herbicide, has been temporarily dropped. In a communiqué to the CTNBio (National Technical Biosafety Commission, the official body responsible for approving GMOs in Brazil) Bayer claimed that it needed more time to reach an agreement with leading rice producers, who are opposed to the product’s release.