Modified corn sold by mistake

SAN FRANCISCO -- Biotechnology company Syngenta AG said Tuesday it mistakenly sold to consumers tons of experimental genetically engineered corn never approved by U.S. regulators.

Syngenta said the corn, inadvertently shipped between 2001 and 2004, doesn't pose any health risks because it's similar to a Syngenta product approved by federal regulators.

The Swiss company said it discovered the mistake itself and reported it to federal authorities.

The Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration are also investigating, and the company faces a fine of up to $500,000, USDA spokesman Jim Rogers said.