http://www.foodqualitynews.com/news/ng.asp?n=74981-monsanto-efsa-mon-
toxicity-gm

Forwarded message.

**
**
*FoodQualityNews [newsletter@...] *
**
*EFSA to review Monsanto maize concerns
**
*By Stephen Daniells

15/03/2007 - *The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has revealed
that
it will review the new data presented by French scientists that
revealed
toxicity concerns in rats fed the MON863 variety of GM maize from
Monsanto. *

The new data, from a 90-day rat study and published in the peer-
review
journal *Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology*,
indicated liver and kidney toxicity in the rats, as well as
differences in
weight gain between the sexes as a result of eating the transgenic
maize.

Alun Jones, EFSA spokesperson told *FoodNavigator.com* that the
authority
has not yet had the opportunity to look at the new study in detail
but
this will be done by their scientific experts before any decisions is
made
regarding the maize.

The GMO panel will meet on March 22nd and 23rd to consider and
discuss the
new study.

Jones also stated that this was not the first time that EFSA have
been
requested to look at MON863. Indeed, the authority released a
statement in
October 2004 following a request by the German authorities following
a
13-week rat study that suggested kidney toxicity.

*"**Following [the GMO Panel's] investigation of the report, and of
the
retrospective evaluation of renal tissues and data derived from the
13-week rat feeding study performed by independent peer reviewers,
the GMO
Panel concludes that there is no evidence presented in the report
that
changes the conclusions already reached by the GMO Panel earlier this
year
in its Opinions on the safety of the insect-protected genetically
modified
maize MON 863 (EFSA 2004a, b)," *read the October 2004 statement.

*"These opinions state that the results of the rodent toxicity study
with
MON 863 maize did not indicate concerns about its safety for human
and
animal consumption." * The researchers behind the new study, led by
Professor Gilles Eric Séralini from the independent CRIIGEN
(Committee for
Independent Research and Genetic Engineering) based at the University
of
Caen questioned the methods used by Monsanto to initially show the
safety
and non-toxicity of the corn, saying that the statistical methods
used
were insufficient to observed any possible disruptions in
biochemistry.

*"Monsanto's analyses do not stand up to rigorous scrutiny - to begin
with, their statistical protocols are highly questionable. Worse, the
company failed to run a sufficient analysis of the differences in
animal
weight. Crucial data from urine tests were concealed in the company's
own
publications," *said Séralini during a joint press conference with
environmental group Greenpeace in Berlin.

Monsanto have continued to defend the safety record of their corn.
Spokesperson, Lee Quarles, told *FoodNavigator.com *: *"The important
thing to note in all of this is the fact that** **the overwhelming
opinion
of expert authorities is that MON 863 is safe for human and animal
consumption. **This includes experts in Europe as the ****European
competent authorities concur that MON 863 YieldGard Rootworm maize is
safe
for human and animal health and the environment. ** **"Please also
note
that** **MON 863 YieldGard Rootworm maize has completed full
regulatory
review and has been grown commercially in the United States and
Canada
since 2003. This product has also been approved for import and food
use in
many countries around the world, including Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the
Philippines, Russia and Mexico," *he added.

MON863 is a transgenic maize genetically modified to express the Bt-
toxin
(Cry3Bb1) which enables the plant to be insect repellent against the
corn
rootworm pest. It is different from other GM corns of the market
since
these express the Cry1Ab toxin which is toxic to the European corn
borer.

It received European approval for use in animal feed in 2005 and for
human
consumption in 2006.


------- Fin du message transféré -------
---
Michel Dussandier - - - http://midier.net
"MADÂME, LE FILM" dans une seule salle!
Cinéma L'ENTREPÔT à 20H Paris 14ème