The European Commission has put in place emergency importation measures to flag any Chinese products that contain the genetically modified (GM) rice Bt 63. The rules mean that the EU will accept only consignments of rice products that have been indicated as acceptable, and even these must be tested by an official or accredited laboratory using a specific testing method accompanied by an analytical report. EU member states will ensure products already on the market do not contain Bt 63 through such methods as random sampling. The problems with Bt 63, an insect-resistant rice strain modified with the Cry1Ac toxin gene from Bacillus thuringiensis, which is not yet approved for food or feed anywhere in the world, began in September 2006, when the UK, France and Germany discovered the unregistered GM rice in certain foods. The countries notified the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed, and China, in turn, tracked the originators of the products and suspended their exports. Despite this, unauthorized Bt 63 rice continued to resurface, most notably in February 2007 in a shipment of protein concentrate intended for feed; late last year, Bt 63 was still being reported in imports. The European authorities are set to reassess the matter in October to gauge the effects of the new measures.