Should GM Food Toxicity Data Be Confidential?

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Disclose Toxicity Data of GM Foods: CIC to Biotech Dept

Source:Zee News

Author:n/a

India's Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed the national

Department of Biotechnology (DBT) to provide " crucial data " pertaining to

genetically modified (GM) crops to activist Divya Raghunandan of Greenpeace

India. Raghunandan filed a petition for the information under India's RTI Act.

The CIC decided that " toxicity and allergenicity of any product to be put on

large-scale [field] trial is a matter of overriding public interest. " The RTI

Act exempts information from disclosure if it includes commercial confidence,

trade secrets, or intellectual property, according to the article. But a rider

to the act says that such details can be disclosed in the larger public

interest. MAHYCO, which sells Bt cotton seeds in India and is involved in field

testing a number of GM crops, had argued against Raghunandan, saying that

disclosure of information pertaining of its agriculture products would affect

MAHYCO's business interests. MAHYCO has now filed an

appeal with the CIC to stop the disclosure from taking place. The article can

be viewed online at the link below.

http://greenbio.checkbiotech.org/news/disclose_toxicity_data_gm_foods_cic_biotec\

h_dept

 

 

 

 

" Vaccination wastes resources, gives false hopeand distracts attention from what

needs to be done. " - Dr Surinder Bakshi, Consultant Communicable Disease, UK,

the Sunday Times,15 April 2001.

 

 

 

 

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