The Center for Food Safety wants the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to declare LLRice 601 as a plant pest. The "super rice" is genetically-modified to withstand high dosages of the commercial weed killer Liberty (glufosinate ammonium). Both LLRice 601 and Liberty are products of Bayer CropScience.

The brouhaha started last month when grains of LLRice 601 were found mixed with commercial supplies of long grain rice in several states including Arkansas and Missouri.

"USDA's stamp of approval to genetically engineered rice after it has illegally contaminated the food supply would set a dangerous precedent, rewarding the biotech industry's negligence and thereby making similar contamination episodes more likely in the future," warned the consumer group.

LL601 Rice contains a protein known as Liberty Link. This protein enables the rice to survive high levels of the herbicide that would kill weeds. Two other genetically modified rice lines with Liberty Link have been confirmed safe for use in food and the environment. But they need USDA approval before they can be grown and sold commercially.

Aside from contamination issues, the consumer group contends that LLRICE 601 could create herbicide resistant super weeds and increase chemical residue.

The USDA maintains its stand that LLRice 601 carries no environmental or health concerns and it does not plan to recall or destroy the contaminated commercial product.

Rice (Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima) are members of the grass family and native to tropical and subtropical southern and southeastern Asia and Africa. Rice is a dietary staple of more than half of the world's human population mostly in Asia and Latin America.

Because they are naturally wind-pollinated, groups who are opposed to anti-genetically modified crops say the risk of spreading their unnatural characteristics into the wild are high.

The genetically modified rice, LLRICE 601, that cropped up in in Arkansas poses no health risks, says State Agriculture Secretary Richard Bell. LLRICE 601 was genetically engineered by Bayer CropScience to be resistant to a herbicide. Although it has not received USDA approval for commercial distribution, it was discovered in Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.

But Bell said the reports labeling the rice as tainted, bad or contaminated were untrue. "There are no food safety or environmental issues at all...the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration of Washington have assured that they are both safe for food and there is no environmental impact."

It is still not known how LLRICE 601 got into bins of conventional commercial rice, but Bell said it could have been stolen or it got out by accident.

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), like the LLRICE 601, are plants or animals whose genetic material has been altered via recombinant DNA technology. Recombinant DNA technology allows DNA molecules from different species to combine into one molecule.

Not everyone is a fan of GMOs. GMO crops and livestock have been nicknamed "Frankenfood" by its opponents because they are viewed as unnatural products of scientific meddling. Others say GMOs could produce unforeseen global side effects as a result of modified organisms proliferating in the wild. Many Western European countries and Japan have banned the entry of GMO products into their territories.