ANGER OVER US PLANS TO ALLOW GM CONTAMINATION OF FOOD

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Sonya

ANGER OVER US PLANS TO ALLOW GM CONTAMINATION OF FOOD

 

 

ANGER OVER US PLANS TO ALLOW GM CONTAMINATION OF FOOD

 

Nov 23, 2004

 

http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/press_releases/anger_over_us_plans_to_all_23112004.html

 

 

Plans to allow contamination of human food crops with biotech or

genetically modified (GM) experimental crops grown on `test'

sites

will be published tomorrow (Wednesday) by the US Government's

Food

and Drug Administration (FDA) [1].

 

 

If the proposal is accepted it could to lead to GM pollution of

food consumed in Europe. It is impossible to test for the

presence of experimental GM material in foods imported from or

processed in the US, because over two-thirds of US experimental

GM

crops contain genes classified as confidential, and which

therefore can't be detected.

 

 

The US proposals, which could be accepted in 60 days from 25

November, will reduce the legal liability on biotech companies

and

will act as a major disincentive for them to control GM field

tests. Contamination is therefore likely to increase.

 

 

Friends of the Earth's GM campaigner, Emily Diamand, said:

 

 

" The US seems determined to push GM food down the world's

throat, regardless of the consequences. I nstead of insisting

on

strict controls to prevent experimental GM crops contaminating

the

food chain, the Bush administration is proposing to legalise this

pollution, with unknown consequences for human health and the

environment. This reckless proposal should ring alarm bells for

every consumer, food company and Government across the planet."

 

 

The FDA has allowed a period of 60 days from the 25th of November

for responses to its proposals. Friends of the Earth is urging

all concerned citizens, companies and government authorities

around the world to make objections to the US government, in the

strongest possible terms, against this attempt to contaminate the

world's food supplies with experimental GMOs.

 

 

Experimental GM crops are currently permitted to be grown on a

minimum of 23,000 hectares (ha) in the United States, and some

individual test sites are over 400 ha in size. The approved area

for GM crop tests since the late 1980s is over 200,000 ha. They

include crops engineered for herbicide or insect resistance,

altered nutritional properties, or sterile pollen or

seeds. Other

crops generate pharmaceuticals or anti-fungal compounds that

resemble proteins that cause food allergies. The US government

is

not proposing any maximum threshold for `inadvertent'

contamination of food, feed and seed stocks from experimental

sites.

 

 

The new policy sets out loose `safety assessment' guidelines

under

which a company may voluntarily consult with the FDA to have its

experimental GM crop material deemed "acceptable" as a

contaminant

in food. The `safety assessment' is based on paperwork and two

inadequate tests that the FDA estimates will take companies just

20 hours to complete. The proposed review also excludes testing

for unintended effects caused by genetic modification. This

inadequate review would grant biotech companies the legal cover

to

allow their experimental GM crops to enter the American food

supply. The US biotechnology and grain industries are already

calling on the US government to "vigorously promote global

adoption" of this policy [2]

 

 

Bill Freese, Research Analyst with Friends of the Earth US said:

 

"Allowing conventional food to be contaminated by experimental

crops is a recipe for disaster. What is even more unbelievable

is

that the Bush Administration wants to promote this policy around

the world as an international model. "

 

 

Since over two-thirds of experimental GM crops grown in the US

contain genes classified as confidential, there is little public

information about what genes are being tested. Without this

basic

information, laboratories will be unable to look for their

presence in food products. This will have serious consequences

for food companies wishing to avoid such contamination and

Governments carrying out checks on imports. Neither will be able

to detect the contamination as they won't know what they are

looking for.

The FDA policy comes in response to a 2002 initiative by the Bush

Administration. FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford describes the

policy as " a high priority for the Administration and the

industry, to enhance public confidence, avoid product recalls,

and

provide an international model" for similar policies around the

world [3]

In January, the US Dept. of Agriculture proposed a similar

policy

for its sphere of GM crop regulation (plant pest risks). The

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to issue its

own

contamination approval policy applicable to pesticide-producting

GM crops in the near future.

 

 

A briefing paper with more information is available at:

http://www.foei.org/publications/pdfs/contamination.pdf[1]

NOTES:

[1] FDA release of the policy was announced at:

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2004/ANS01327.html

 

FDA's draft policy is available at:

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/bioprgui.htm.

 

 

[2] "US Grain Industry, BIO Urge US Government to Expedite

`Trace-Amounts' Policy for Biotech Products," press release,

Biotechnology Industry Organization, National Grain Feed

Association, and other trade groups, April 7, 2004,

www.bio.org/newsroom/newsitem.asp?id=2004_0407_01.

 

 

[3] Lester M. Crawford, Acting Commissioner of the FDA. Speech

before The U.S. Vatican Mission's Conference Feeding A Hungry

World: The Moral Imperative Of Biotechnology, September 2004

www.agbioworld.org

... [1] http://www.foei.org/publications/pdfs/contamination.pdf

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