A St. Louis jury on Friday found Research Triangle Park-based Bayer CropScience responsible for traces of genetically modified rice that was released into the U.S. rice supply in 2006.
A jury awarded Missouri farmers Ken Bell and Johnny Hunter $1.9 million and $53,336, respectively in compensatory damages. The farmers say they lost sales following the release of the Bayer CropScience rice. The jury did not award punitive damages in the case.
In a statement, Bayer CropScience says punitive damages were not warranted and the company says the claims have no basis. But the company says it is disappointed in the award of compensatory damages and will study the decision and consider further options. Bayer CropScience, a subsidiary of German company Bayer AG, employs about 700 people in RTP.
“At this time, there are additional cases scheduled for trial in the near future, which will be different from these initial cases, both in plaintiffs’ situations and claims,” Bruce Mackintosh, general counsel for Bayer CropScience said in a statement. “We are presently preparing for those trials.”
When Bayer CropScience’s rice was released into the rice supply in 2006, the U.S. Department of Agriculture barred such genetically modified products from the U.S. rice supply, according to Adam Levitt, an attorney representing the plaintiffs. The release affected U.S. rice exports. Some markets, including the European Union, refused to purchase rice from the United States.
“Companies such as Bayer who elect to test and develop genetically engineered crops in the United States need to play by the rules and not put American farmers at risk,” Levitt said in a statement.
Bayer CropScience says the traces of biotech rice posed no food safety issues. The company says the protein involved in the product, which makes the rice tolerant to an herbicide, has been deemed safe for various crops by regulators in Canada, the European Union, Japan and the United States. Bayer CropScience also says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture have determined Bayer CropScience biotech rice to be safe for human consumption. But the company has not yet commercialized the biotech rice.
An investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture was unable to determine how the biotech traces entered the long-grain rice supply.
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