NEWS RELEASE

PURAMAIZE™ IS SOLUTION TO GMO CONTAMINATION OF CORN

PuraMaize™, a completely natural system that virtually eliminates the contamination of corn by genetically modified organisms (GMO), has been developed and patented by Tom Hoegemeyer, Ph.D., head of research and development for Hoegemeyer Hybrids.  Hoegemeyer plans to pursue a broad licensing strategy for this revolutionary technique.

“Essentially, PuraMaize allows the production of GMO and non-GMO cornfields side by side, ensuring that corn produced for specialty starches, cornflakes, tacos and other corn-based products will remain pure and free from GMO contamination,” Hoegemeyer said in announcing the development.  “And it will enable U.S. corn producers and processors to export their corn products to markets reluctant about GMOs, such as the European Union and Japan, without costly isolation of their non-GMO cornfields,” he said.

Hoegemeyer is chief technology officer for Hoegemeyer Hybrids, a regional seed company based at Hooper, Nebraska.  He is also a past president of the American Seed Trade Association’s Corn and Sorghum division.  Dr. Hoegemeyer received his Ph. D. in plant breeding at Iowa State University and is a highly regarded plant breeder in the U.S. seed industry. 

In tests, using both purple-seeded corn and commercial GMO corn hybrids, PuraMaize™ effectively blocked pollination from external pollen sources other than its own.  Without isolating the test fields, the contamination was either eliminated or reduced to an extremely low level that exceeds any current regulatory threshold for non-GMO classification, Hoegemeyer said. 

“PuraMaize easily meets the necessary requirements,” Hoegemeyer said.  But he cautioned that careful identity preservation techniques must still be used as the crop is harvested, stored and shipped to ensure a crop’s purity.

Once licensing arrangements are complete, the all-natural PuraMaize™ system should be available in commercial hybrid varieties as early as the 2006 growing season.

Surveys have shown that some groups of consumers around the globe are skeptical of products containing genetically-modified corn products. 

GMO traits, which improved yields by providing resistance to insects and some broad-spectrum herbicides, have not been accepted by some consumers, particularly those in Europe, Japan and Australia.  Shipments of U.S. corn products destined for those overseas markets have been disrupted and the United States has lost export market share because of issues of GMO content.

Because GMO corn acres in the United States have been steadily increasing, it has become difficult, if not impossible in some areas, to produce organic and non-GMO corn for specific food markets.  The PuraMaize™ system should allow both GMO and non-GMO production systems to coexist.