With the appearance of genetically modified organisms in the last decade (which are also known as transgenic, transgenetical or just GM or GMO), there have been a total of 113 cases of contamination in 39 different countries, according to a joint report from Greenpeace and Genewatch, two NGOs based in England.

The report says that 90% of the cases of contamination were caused by four GMOs that are most widely commercialized worldwide: corn (35% of the cases), soy (23%), canola (8%) and cotton (9%).

And the report goes on to point out that the highest number of cases of GM contamination occurred in the US, which is the world’s biggest user of GMOs. Interestingly, the second highest number of cases was in England which does not cultivate GMOs commercially.

Brazil appears in the report with four cases of GMO contamination since 1998. One case was the illegal entrance of GM soy from Argentina in the state of Rio Grande do Sul between 1998 and 2005, another was the sale of GM corn also in Rio Grande do Sul last year.

Gabriel Couto, of Greenpeace, says that Brazilian government control of GMOs is simply "inefficient… because there is no real commitment to see that legislation is complied with."

The report recommends the creation of an independent international commission to investigate and control problems with GMO contamination.

Agência Brasil