In a hearing on 11 September 2006, the Commission Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health heard a presentation by the European Federation of Rice Millers, which represents about 90% of the rice trade in the EU. The trade association reported that out of 162 samples of rice tested by its members so far, 33 had been tested positive for the LL601 variant.
Rice samples taken from the market and tested in Sweden and France have also been tested positive for LL601. The two countries are so far the only to use two newly developed methods for LL601 testing, which produce much more accurate results. It is expected that once the new method is applied in other member states, which will take another one to two weeks, more samples will test positive for LL601.
20,000 tons of imported rice from the US are currently blocked in the port of Rotterdam, after three out of 23 barges have been tested positive for LL601. The barges tested positive will either be sent back to the US or destroyed.
