Recall Foods Contaminated by GM Corn

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GMW: Recall Foods Contaminated by GM Corn

" GM WATCH " <info

 

 

 

 

Thu, 24 Mar 2005 15:14:32 GMT

 

 

Recall Foods Contaminated by GM Corn

 

GM WATCH daily

http://www.gmwatch.org

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Dr Brian John points out that while Syngenta says that " some hundreds

of tonnes " of BT10 maize went into the food supply, they also say that

over 4 years farmers planted 37,000 acres of the stuff. Average yields

are apparently around 150 bushels per acre, which translates to about 5

tonnes per acre. And that translates to *185,000 tonnes* of

unauthorised BT10 maize going into the food supply -- into corn oil,

cornflakes,

sweeteners, starch, many dairy products, and even medical products.

 

1.GM Maize imported into Europe had no US or EU approval

2.Recall Foods Contaminated by GM Corn

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1.Press Notice from GM Free Cymru, 24 March 2005

Urgent and immediate release

 

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GM Maize imported into Europe had no US or EU approval

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In another twist to the biggest scandal ever to hit the GM

multinationals, it has now been revealed that Syngenta's BT 10

(Punchstock A) maize

has never been authorized for release in the USA, and never authorized

for export (1). Neither has it received any approvals for growing or

food use within Europe (2).

 

GM Free Cymru has discovered that the GM variety has been imported into

Europe, probably for use in human food rather than in animal feed. And

since these imports have been going on, undetected and undeclared, for

more than four years, the corn is probably already on supermarket

shelves. This has happened in spite of accumulating evidence that

BT10 is

unfit for human consumption:

 

** BT10 is virtually indistinguishable from BT11 sweetcorn, which was

given EC approval for use in food (fresh or processed) in 2004 in spite

of grave reservations and even protests from independent scientists and

member states (3).

 

** BT10 was clearly an " experimental GM variety " which never entered

the US approvals process, probably because it was found to be defective

or genetically unstable.

 

** The variety has never had its genetic " character " described in the

literature, which means that even if the EU countries had effective

import monitoring in place (which they do not) the GM testing

laboratories

would not know what they are supposed to look for.

 

** Syngenta has stated that the approved BT11 strain and the

experimental BT10 strain produce the same proteins. This has not been

demonstrated. This is a cause for considerable concern, because the

BT toxins

produced in these varieties are almost completely unknown and are

untested for toxicity (3).

 

** Belgian and French studies have shown that BT11 is an unstable

transgenic line which is contaminated with BT176. This component

contains

antibiotic marker genes, and was linked with " unexplained " cattle

deaths in Hesse, Germany, in 2001-2002 (4). It is reasonable to

assume that

BT10 is also unstable and contaminated with BT176.

 

** BT10 contains certain synthetic genes and proteins which are not

easily broken down by stomach enzymes. In some cases, such proteins may

survive in the gut for ten to twenty times as long as most " natural "

proteins, and this may account for the lesions and other physiological

abnormalities observed in animal feeding studies involving GM crops (5).

There are concerns that allergic reactions may follow, and that some

abnormalities may lead to cancerous growths (6).

 

Syngenta refuses to name the countries into which contaminated maize

supplies have been exported, but it has admitted that 37,000 acres of

BT10 crops were grown between 2000 and 2004 (7). That means that at

least

185,000 tonnes of BT10 maize grain (not " several hundred tonnes " as

claimed by Syngenta) that should have been condemned has entered the food

chain in many different countries (8).

 

Following the revelations about the four-year-long contamination of US

maize supplies by BT10 crops, and the coordinated attempts by Syngenta

and the US authorities to cover up the scandal, there is now a

concerted effort emanating from the US to convince the rest of the

world that

BT10 maize is safe to eat and poses no environmental threat. GM Free

Cymru refuses to accept these bland assurances, and says that the episode

shows that the US regulatory system is a shambles, with no serious

attempt to control GM contamination of related crops in the countryside,

and no effective method for keeping GM and non-GM food supplies apart.

Like many other NGOs, GM Free Cymru claims that there is an undeclared

Bush Administration policy to allow the whole of the US food chain to be

polluted with GM materials. Through the WTO and through foreign aid

programmes and diplomacy, the Adminstration is seeking to extend this

policy across the planet.

 

GM Free Cymru spokesman Dr Brian John said today: " This really is the

last straw. American complacency about GM crops and foods has allowed

a large GM corporation to pollute food supplies with unauthorised GM

materials, and to go on polluting them for five years. Then they

withhold information for at least four months, try to cover the whole

episode

up, and finally mount a massive PR campaign designed to allay our

fears. And what has the EC, the British Government, and our own FSA done

about it? Nothing at all, as far as we can see, apart from a bland and

complacent response from DEFRA (9) (10). We demand an immediate halt to

all American maize imports into Europe as a minimum first step (11).

We also demand the immediate implementation of GM testing measures at

all British ports -- something that should have been done long ago. The

US exporters and the EU importers must be prosecuted if any traces of

BT10 are found in their shipments or food products or if their

documentation is defective. And then imports should not be resumed

until the EU

has effective monitoring and testing procedures in place, and until GM

liability legislation is on the statute books of all the EU countries.

If they want it, let the Americans eat their own BT10 sweetcorn. "

 

ENDS

 

Contact: Dr Brian John

GM Free Cymru

Tel 01239-820470

 

 

(1) " I have confirmed with FDA that " BT10 never went through an FDA

consultation process. " Therefore, it was never reviewed for unintended

human health effects, at least not by the U.S. "

Doug Gurian-Sherman, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Center for Food

Safety, 660 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 302, Washington, D.C. 20003

 

(2) A search of the EC / EFSA web site reveals that BT10 has never

featured in any studies or discussions. The Syngenta event Bt 10 is a

Lepadopteran toxin Cry1Ab.

 

(3) http://www.i-sis.org.uk/Bt11.php

24 May 2004

Approval of Bt11 Maize Endangers Humans and Livestock, by Dr. Mae-Wan

Ho

 

(4) http://www.indsp.org/ManorBeast.php

GM Food & Feed Not Fit for " Man or Beast " by Dr. Mae-Wan Ho and Prof.

Joe Cummins

 

(5) The Lancet 354, 1353-4; also

http://plab.ku.dk/tcbh/PusztaiPusztai.htm

 

(6) http://www.indsp.org/StanleyEwenSummary.php

 

(7) http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050321/full/nature03570.html

http://www.syngenta.com

 

(8) For typical Bt maize grain yield statistics, see:

http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/icm/1998/1-19-1998/yieldbt.html

Bt maize yields are c 150 bushels per acre or c 5 tonnes per acre.

 

(9)

http://www.gnn.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=153346 & NewsAreaID=2

DEFRA and FSA were informed by Syngenta of the contamination incident

on 22 March 2005,

 

(10) According to DEFRA: " Food or feed derived from a mixture of Bt 11

and Bt 10 maize seeds would not reveal the two original sources of Bt

protein as they are identical. " This is an unsupportable contention,

and has no scientific validity.

 

(11) At present, in spite of the EU's claim that it has the best GM

regulatory system in the world, there is no mechanism for testing

imported cargoes of GM grains -- or other materials that might be

contaminated

with GM -- at ports and other points of entry into the EU.

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2.NEWS MEDIA RELEASE 24/3/05 (AUSTRALIA)

Recall Foods Contaminated by GM Corn

 

GeneEthics Network calls on the Food Authority (FSANZ) and Biosecurity

Australia (BA) to immediately check for unapproved genetically

manipulated (GM) corn variety Bt10 in our food supply. If confirmed, a

general

recall of all affected products should occur over Easter.

 

The journal Nature says that for four years the Bt10 variety of insect

toxin GM corn seed, not approved anywhere as human food, has been grown

by US and other farmers. Large amounts of the insect killing corn seed,

mixed with an approved variety, were grown in many countries. Thousands

of processed food products may contain this unapproved and untested

variety.

 

" It seems likely rogue GM corn, variety Bt10 is now in shops here, "

says GeneEthics network Director, Bob Phelps.

 

" FSANZ and BA must urgently find out how much contaminated corn was

imported and immediately order a general recall of all affected products

over Easter, " he says.

 

" It's incredible that for four years an unapproved GM corn variety,

never assessed for human safety nor approved anywhere, has been entering

crop and food chains world-wide, " he says.

 

" The GM industry is out of control, " he says.

 

" This is just the latest of many serious food pollution events, with

unapproved varieties of GM corn, " he says.

 

" Genetic pollution from GM crops appears inevitable, even with

elaborate monitoring and assessment systems that are supposed to

ensure safety

and segregation, " he says.

 

" News of this contamination follows scientific reports from the UK,

that GM canola and other crops have negative impacts on natural

ecosystems, " he

says.

 

" And because the GM industry knows GM contamination, health impacts and

environmental pollution are inherent to GM technology it flatly refuses

to accept any liability for the harm done by GM products, " Mr Phelps

says.

 

" The scandal is that governments do not require the GM industry to

accept liability, responsibility or accountability, and they move it onto

other

vulnerable sections of our community, " he says.

 

" The resources that regulators need to effectively guard our borders

from invasions of genetic pollutants are wasted by the Australian

government on punishing those innocent people in need of protection

who arrive

on our shores, " he says.

 

" Much stronger and more effective import monitoring and assessment

processes are urgently needed to ensure the Australian food supply and

cropping systems are protected from secret GM contamination, " Mr Phelps

concludes.

 

More Comment: Bob Phelps 03 9347 4500 (O) 03 9889 1717 (H)

 

Bob Phelps

Executive Director

GeneEthics Network

Level 1, 60 Leicester St, Carlton 3053 Australia

Tel: 03 9347 4500 {Int Code +613} or 1300 133 868

Fax: 03 9345 1166

Email: info

WWW: http://www.geneethics.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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