COA Minister Chen Wu-hsiung issued the denial to reporters following a news report the previous night that quoted an official of the Department of Health (DOH) as saying that Taiwan is ready to open its market to genetically engineered rice from the United States.

"The COA will not take the liberalization measure that would allow such rice from the United States to enter Taiwan, " Chen said, adding that "I will step down if imports of U.S. genetically engineered rice are permitted."

"The COA has `absolutely no plans' to allow such opening, " he stressed.

Any foreign country hoping to export long grain rice to Taiwan will be required to submit official documents to verify its genetic footprint, Chen said.

In response to the news report, the COA's Agriculture and Food Agency (AFA) issued a statement later that same day to clarify that the government will not open the market to foreign imports of genetically modified rice, nor has it approved any such products to enter Taiwan.

Although the DOH is making preparations to include some genetically engineered food in its food safety assessment operations, the statement said this does not mean that Taiwan has allowed them to hit the local market.

It also pointed out that Taiwan's development of genetically altered crops will prioritize grain that will not be used for food.

AFA Director-General Chen Wen-teh said the government does not favor imports of foreign genetically altered rice, although it has to abide by the regulations of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which allocates a quota every year for Taiwanese imports of foreign rice.

At present, Taiwan only allows imports of non-genetically modified rice from Vietnam, Japan and the United States, Chen noted.