Andhra Pradesh warns firms over spread of unapproved Monsanto GM seeds

Since planting is over and we can now only collect leaf samples, we will have to rely on farmers to trace the origin of seeds: Andhra

A top Indian cotton-growing state has told two local companies that seeds they sold to farmers may have contained traces of an unapproved GM strain from Monsanto, according to government notices seen by Reuters that warn of action against the firms.

U.S. agrochemicals company Monsanto Co told Reuters late last year that local seed companies have attempted to "incorporate unauthorised and unapproved herbicide-tolerant technologies into their seeds" for profit, leading to the proliferation of illegal seeds, according its own internal investigation and that by the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

Indian seed firms deny this. The authorities say they are still investigating