LITHUANIA WILL STICK TO EU GUIDANCE ON RICE

C O N F I D E N T I A L VILNIUS 000803 SIPDIS SIPDIS WARSAW FOR FAS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/27/2016 TAGS: EAGR ECON ETRD TBIO KPAO LH SUBJECT: LITHUANIA WILL STICK TO EU GUIDANCE ON RICE REF: SECSTATE 137943 Classified By: Political/Economic Section Chief Rebecca Dunham for reas ons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Zenonas Stanevicius, Deputy Director of the State Food and Veterinary Service (SFVS),told us August 25 that Lithuania will adhere strictly to any EU guidelines regarding genetically engineered products, including rice. He said that U.S.-produced rice amounted to slightly less then ONE percent of Lithuania's rice consumption and that the SFVS was working to determine whether or not any LLRICE 601 entered Lithuania. He also said that Lithuanians, in general, held a decidedly negative attitude towards genetically modified food products. We emphasized that the USG was actively investigating the facts of this case and that both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have evaluated this product and concluded that there are no HEALTH or environmental safety concerns associated with it. ¶2. (U) ONE local daily reported August 28 that the European Commission has decided "to test strictly" all long-grained rice exported from the United States to the EU to prevent any "unregistered" genetically modified versions from entering. CLOUD