Direct Proof of Starlink Poisoning

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Direct Proof of Starlink " Poisoning " JoAnn Guest Apr 23, 2003 17:30 PDT

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

Datelin: Arlington, VA

 

http://www.organicconsumers.org/gefood/starlinkpoison723.cfm

 

Scientists considering whether a variety of biotech corn should be

allowedinto 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

thecorn. 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 The corn has been withdrawn from the market, but the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'sdeveloper, Aventis CropScience, is asking the Environmental

ProtectionAgency 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

caughtin testing by processors and shippers.

 

In a report to the scientists, EPA says the actual levels of StarLink

inU.S. corn supplies range from 0.34 to 8 parts per billion, depending

on the method used to make the estimate.

 

JoAnn Guest

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