Monsanto refusing to hand over rat study data?

[Guest guest]

> Monsanto refusing to hand over rat

> study data?

 

> " GM WATCH " <info

> Wed, 15 Sep 2004 10:28:12 +0100

 

>

> GM WATCH daily

> http://www.gmwatch.org

> ---

> This relates back to the original Le Monde expose

> which Claire translated and GM WATCH circulated

> world-wide.

> ---

> Did Monsanto breach GE rat-feeding declaration?

> Wednesday, 15 September 2004

> Press Release: Green Party

>

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0409/S00303.htm

>

> The Green Party is demanding to know why Monsanto

> still hasn't provided FSANZ with the adverse

> rat-feeding data on their GE corn MON 863, despite

> supposedly signing a declaration it would reveal all

> the facts relevant to its approval application.

>

> " We have now established that Monsanto is required

> to sign a statutory declaration with each

> application it submits to Food Standards Australia

> New Zealand, declaring that it has not withheld

> any information that might prejudice its

> application, " said Sue Kedgley, the Green Party’s

> Safe Food Spokesperson,

>

> " It now appears that Monsanto has breached the terms

> of such a declaration by withholding this

> 90-day study showing abnormalities in rats fed

> MON863. This is a serious matter that calls into

> question the integrity of the entire GE food

> assessment process.

>

> " Just yesterday the media reported that 11

> international medical journals have adopted a

> collective policy that adverse effects of

> pharmaceutical testing must be released by

> companies. Surely the same standard of care should

> apply to food? "

>

> Ms Kedgley has today written to FSANZ asking them to

> confirm that Monsanto signed the required

> declaration, why Monsanto had withheld their MON863

> for approval and to confirm that this breached the

> terms of such a declaration. She also wants to know

> why Monsanto is still withholding the full data of

> the rat-feeding study and their original summary.

>

> " FSANZ guidelines clearly state that companies must

> supply them with copies of original reports and that

> summaries do not contain adequate material. Given

> these guidelines, why is Monsanto still refusing to

> hand over the raw data?

>

> The Green Party now has the report by France's

> Commission du Genie Biomoleculaire (CGB) that denied

> approval to MON863 and which was the basis of the Le

> Monde article that broke the rat-feeding story. The

> Party is still to have it formally translated, but a

> French reader has confirmed that it matches with the

> Paris newspaper's story.

>

> " We call upon FSANZ to make the CGB report on MON863

> available in English on its website so that

> independent scientists can evaluate it.

>

> " Given that this genetically engineered corn is

> likely to be present, unlabelled, in hundreds of

> foods on sale in New Zealand, it is urgent that its

> safety is independently verified and the full data

> showing abnormalities in rats is made available for

> independent expert and public scrutiny, " said Ms

> Kedgley.

>