The strain of GM wheat found in Oregon was developed by the biotechnology company Monsanto, officials confirmed. The finding was a surprise because as far as anyone knew, GM wheat has never been grown anywhere in the world outside of experiments. While other GM crops have been approved for cultivation, GM wheat has not.

Following the announcement, Japan and South Korea suspended some imports of U.S. wheat, and the European Union said it was testing U.S. wheat shipments to make sure they did not contain GM wheat.