China, the world’s biggest soybean buyer, has stopped receiving Brazilian soybean shipments from five firms after cargoes did not meet plant health requirements, according to a statement from the Brazilian government. The Brazilian agriculture ministry said China’s General Administration of Customs (GACC) detected the presence of pesticides and pests on a routine inspection of cargos. [GMW: Most Brazil-grown soybeans are GM herbicide-tolerant.] Yahoo! Finance

Sign the petition urging the European Commission and EU national governments to take a strong stand against any attempts to exclude new GMOs from the existing EU GMO legislation and to uphold mandatory safety checks, transparency and labelling for all GMOs to guarantee the safety of our food, as well as to protect nature, the environment and our freedom of choice. You can sign whatever country you are based in. WeMove Europe

Testbiotech has published a new backgrounder summarising recent research showing clear evidence that the EU Commission proposal for the future regulation of plants obtained from new genetic engineering (new genomic techniques, NGT) is inadequate. It would be outdated before the new regulation could be implemented. The proposal is based on the fundamental misconception that there is a threshold of 20 mutations for NGT effects that would not require risk assessment. However, recent scientific publications have found undeniable evidence that there is no such thing as a “magic threshold”. Testbiotech

Poland’s bid to end an EU impasse on new gene-edited crops has flopped after its much-anticipated patent proposal was met with confusion from other member states. Poland’s proposal was meant to unite the bloc and secure a deal before handing over the EU Council presidency in July. Instead, diplomats at a working group meeting were left scratching their heads. “What is the problem they want to solve with this? A fear of international monopolies?” asked one diplomat. “The solution is causing more problems than it solves.” Another diplomat noted that the complexity of the Polish proposal has itself become a stumbling block. “Consensus was that the text has become so complex that no one can make sense of it any more.” Politico (paywalled, subscription only, no link in header)