Brussels, 25/05/2005 (Agence Europe) - Maize gluten from the United States which was contaminated by transgenic BT10 maize was intercepted on Tuesday by the Irish authorities, which notified the incident via the Community rapid response system. Philip Tod, spokesperson to Markos Kyprianou, Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, made the announcement to the press on Wednesday, adding that “the Irish authorities are doing all in their power to ensure that this maize in not entering the food chain”. He added that the American control authorities informed the United Kingdom of the presence of BT10 in the incriminated load, in light of results of tests which are a requirement for all American exports of maize gluten to the EU. “This is the first time that a batch of foodstuffs containing contaminated gluten maize destined for the EU has been detected”, said the spokesperson. Last April, the EU imposed an obligatory certification requirement on American exports to the EU, as part of emergency measures taken after the Syngenta affair (EUROPE 8929).