MANILA, Philippines -- An expert from the Department of Agriculture (DA) refuted claims of the environmentalist group Greenpeace that at least two brands of US commercial rice being sold in public markets could be contaminated with Genetically Modified Organisms or GMOs.

Director Alicia Ilaga of the Department of Agriculture-Biotechnology Program Office (DA-BPO) said in a statement Friday that the US rice stocks Greenpeace claims contain GMOs have passed tests conducted by the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) and been found free of the controversial LL62 and LL601 strains.

Ilaga also denied Greenpeace's claims that rice brands allegedly containing GMOs like Blue Ribbon from Texas and Riceland from Arkansas are already being sold in the market, saying these varieties have yet to be shipped to the country.

"Hindi sa hindi siya safe, hindi pa lang talaga siya approved dito sa atin [It is not because it is not safe. It has not been approved here]," said Ilaga.

Greenpeace claimed the two brands are being sold in all S&R Supermarkets in Metro Manila.

LL601 and LL62 are genetically modified rice varieties resistant to herbicide. The latter has been deregulated in the US and approved for planting there, according to the DA-BPO statement.

LL601 meanwhile has been declared safe for human consumption by the US Food and Drugs Authority (USFDA), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), the statement said.

Ilaga also said the BPI has already released a report about tests conducted on rice shipments from the US over the last two months, including those that Greenpeace claimed are sold in some Metro Manila supermarkets.

Rice samples from at least five supermarkets underwent initial testing using the lateral flow method at the BPI office in San Andres, Manila. and all rice samples showed negative for the LL62 and LL601 GMO rice strains, according to the DA-BPO statement.