Fwd: Direct Proof of StarLink Poisoning

[Guest guest]

Gettingwell, " mrsjoguest " <joguest@m...> wrote:

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> > Direct Proof of StarLink Poisoning

> > Witness tells scientists biotech corn to blame for

> > allergic reaction July 18, 2001

> Byline:

> By Philip Brasher, AP Farm Writer

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> Datelin: Arlington,

> > Scientists considering whether a variety of

> > biotech corn should be allowed into the food supply

> > heard from a Florida optometrist that he's allergic

> > to the grain despite a negative government blood

> > test.

 

Keith Finger showed the panel pictures of

> > welts and rashes he says he suffered Sunday after

> > he ate a mixture of StarLink corn and water.

He

> > says he earlier had allergic reactions to tortilla

> > chips that tested positive for the corn.

 

> > " The itching was horrible, " Finger told the

> > scientists Tuesday.

A member of the panel, Dean

> > Metcalfe, an allergy specialist at the

> > National Institutes of Health, said symptoms like

> > Finger's would be sufficiently convincing for a

> > doctor to order tests to tell whether he was allergic

> > to the corn.

Finger is among 17 people

> > whose blood the Centers for Disease Control

> > and Prevention tested in the spring for sensitivity

> > to a special protein in the corn.

The tests were

> > negative. Like Finger, all the 17 people had

> > reported allergic reactions after eating corn

> > products.

Some of the scientists questioned the

> > effectiveness of the test and why the government

> > had not sought out more potential victims by

> > contacting doctors around the country.

Federal

> > officials said they lacked the money

> > for wider-ranging tests.

 

Discovery of the

> > corn in taco shells last fall led to nationwide

> > recalls of corn products. The corn has been

> > withdrawn from the market, but the

> > crop's developer, Aventis CropScience, is asking

> > the Environmental Protection Agency to allow a

> > minimal amount in the food supply to avoid

> > further recalls.

The scientific advisers

> > are deciding whether the agency should set a

> > maximum level for the corn of 20 parts per

> > billion.

The scientists are not expected to

> > issue their recommendation for a week.

 

A special protein in the corn, called Cry9C, breaks down

> > slowly in the digestive system, an indication that

> > it might induce allergic reactions.

However,

> > scientists say people would have to be exposed to the

> > protein repeatedly to become sensitive to

> > it.

StarLink is among several varieties of corn

> > genetically engineered to produce their own

> > pesticides.

StarLink corn was supposed to have been

> > grown and handled separately from other grain, but

> > farmers often failed to do so.

The Agriculture

> > Department reported Tuesday that it had accounted for

> > all but 720,000 of the 128 million bushels of

> > StarLink corn.

Another 4.9 million bushels may have

> > been mixed with grain that went to food

> > processors.

> Steve Gill, a USDA official, said

> > most of the corn should have been caught in testing

> > by processors and shippers.

> In a report to the

> > scientists, EPA says the actual levels of StarLink

> > in U.S. corn supplies range from 0.34 to 8 parts

> > per billion, depending on the method used to make

> > the estimate.

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