ACTION: Seek Bt10 Corn Tests and Ban (Aus)

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ACTION: Seek Bt10 Corn Tests and Ban

 

 

Syngenta's GE Bt10 corn is not approved for human consumption. Bt10

was grown by US farmers for 4 years and entered the food chain,

probably globally. At least 180,000 tonnes of Bt10 corn was

produced.

 

The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) and Syngenta waited six

months before advising the public of the contamination and USFDA has

not recalled affected corn products. Food Standards Australia New

Zealand (FSANZ) is also taking no action, following assessment of

information from Syngenta (see their statement below).

 

In contrast, European authorities banned American corn products

except those certified Bt10-free.

 

Agri-chemical company Syngenta will not seek approval for the

experimental Bt10 corn as it contains an ampicillin antibiotic

resistance marker gene which the European Food Safety Authority

recommends, " should be restricted to field trials. " The

international food standards agency, the Codex Alimentarius

Commission, also advises against antibiotic resistance markers.

 

 

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DRAFT LETTER

Please put in your own words for best impact

 

Mr Graham Peachey

CEO, FSANZ

PO Box 7186

Canberra ACT 2610

Ph: +61 2 6271 2222

Fax: +61 2 6271 2278

info

http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/

 

 

Dear Mr Peachey

 

I request FSANZ to take urgent action to ensure that Syngenta's

illegal GE Bt10 corn has not entered the Australian human or animal

food supply.

 

Bt10 corn was only experimental, is not approved for human or animal

consumption and contains an ampicillin antibiotic resistance gene

that may be hazardous.

 

I urge FSANZ to follow the European lead and require testing and

Bt10-free certification of all:

 

* future corn and corn product imports;

* imported corn and corn products already in Australia; and

* to ban or recall any corn products found to contain Bt10.

 

 

Please advise me of the results of FSANZ's investigations and what

actions FSANZ takes to ensure our food supply is Bt10-free, to

protect Australians and the food industry.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

......................

 

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FSANZ VERSION

 

http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/mediareleasespublications/factsheets/

factsheets2 005/releaseofunapprovedg2878.cfm

 

Fact sheet: Release of unapproved genetically modified (GM) corn

 

A small quantity of a GM corn variety, known as Bt-10, was

accidentally grown and released into the food and animal feed supply

in the United States (US) between 2001 and 2004. Although Bt-10 corn

is not approved for such release in Australia or in other countries

including the US, there is a small chance that some may have been

present in animal feed or processed food exported to Australia

during this period.

 

A large agricultural biotechnology company, Syngenta, is responsible

for inadvertently producing several hundred tonnes of Bt-10 corn

over a four-year period between 2001 and 2004. The accidental

distribution of the unapproved Bt-10 corn, was reported in an

article published in the scientific journal, Nature, on 22 March

2005. Although Syngenta disclosed the information to the US

authorities in late 2004, it has only recently come to the attention

of Australian authorities, including FSANZ.

 

According to Syngenta, the amount of seed produced from Bt-10 corn

would have constituted only a very small fraction (0.01%) of the

total corn acreage planted in the US over the four year period.

While unlikely, Syngenta has stated that extremely small amounts of

harvested Bt-10 grain (0.002%) could have been used in animal feed

or in processed food products that may have been exported from the

US to countries including Australia. Australian quarantine controls

require all imports of corn feed to be devitalised and crushed.

 

The Bt-10 corn is very similar to Bt-11 corn, a genetically modified

corn variety that has been approved for food use in Australia since

August 2001. Bt11 is also approved for import for food and feed use

in the European Union, Switzerland, New Zealand, Taiwan, the

Philippines, China, Russia and Korea.

 

FSANZ sought and received scientific information relating to Bt-10

corn from Syngenta. This information allowed FSANZ to conduct a

safety assessment of Bt-10 and compare its characteristics to the

approved Bt-11 corn. The two varieties have been modified in the

same way and produce the same novel proteins. The presence of a non-

functional antibiotic resistance marker gene (BLA) in Bt-10 corn,

that is not present in Bt-11, has no impact on the safety of food

produced from Bt-10 corn. FSANZ has previously assessed this marker

gene for safety and its use is approved in Australia for use in a

number of food commodities.

 

FSANZ has concluded that there are no food safety concerns with corn

products imported from the United States since:

 

* The amounts of Bt-10 corn that could have accidentally entered the

food supply in Australia would have been extremely small;

 

* Assessments by both FSANZ and the US regulatory agencies have

confirmed that novel proteins present in Bt-10 are identical to

those present in Bt-11 corn, a fully approved product for animal

feed and human food use in a number of countries around the world,

including Europe and Australia.

 

FSANZ will be formally contacting Syngenta and other biotechnology

companies to advise them that they are expected to provide early

information on any issues of possible concern regarding GM foods.

 

21/4/05