Franken Foods: MAJOR SCANDAL - ILLEGAL GM RICE CONTAMINATES FOOD CHAIN

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GMW: MAJOR SCANDAL - ILLEGAL GM RICE CONTAMINATES FOOD CHAIN

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Wed, 13 Apr 2005 10:22:38 +0100

 

 

MAJOR SCANDAL - ILLEGAL GM RICE CONTAMINATES FOOD CHAIN

 

GM WATCH daily

http://www.gmwatch.org

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" The GE industry is out of control. A small group of rogue scientists

have taken the world's most important staple food crop into their own

hands and are subjecting the Chinese public to a totally unacceptable

experiment. "

 

" This will have a major impact on the Chinese as well as international

rice markets. China is one of the world's major rice exporters and our

customers in Japan, Korea, Russia and Europe are strongly opposed to GE

foods. "

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Illegal GE rice contaminates food chain in China

PRESS RELEASE, 13 April 2005

 

13 April 2005, Beijing, China -- Greenpeace is calling for an urgent,

international product recall after uncovering the illegal release of a

variety of genetically engineered (GE) rice in China. The GE rice has

not been approved for human consumption and may have contaminated Chinese

rice exports.

 

" The GE industry is out of control, " said Greenpeace GE campaigner Sze

Pang Cheung. " A small group of rogue scientists have taken the world's

most important staple food crop into their own hands and are subjecting

the Chinese public to a totally unacceptable experiment. "

 

" We're calling on the Chinese Government to take urgent action to

recall the unapproved GE rice from the fields and from the food chain,

and

to conduct an immediate inquiry into the source of the contamination. "

 

A Greenpeace research team discovered unapproved GE rice being sold and

grown illegally in the Chinese province of Hubei. Interviews with seed

providers and farmers indicate that GE rice seeds have been sold over

the past two years. Samples of rice seed, unmilled and milled rice have

been collected from seed companies, farmers and rice millers. Testing

by the international laboratory Genescan has confirmed the presence of

GE DNA in 19 samples.

 

The evidence from the lab, combined with field reports, confirms that

some of the illegal GE varieties are Bt Rice – which is genetically

engineered to produce an inbuilt pesticide. Greenpeace estimates that at

least 950 to 1200 tons of GE rice entered the food chain after last

year's harvest, and that up to 13,500 tons may enter the food chain after

this year unless urgent action is taken.

 

According to Greenpeace International Scientist, Dr Janet Cotter, this

is a very serious problem requiring urgent Government action: " There

are strong warning signs that this GE Bt rice could cause allergenic

reactions in humans. It has been shown that the protein produced in Bt

rice

(called Cry1Ac) may have induced allergenic-type responses in mice (1).

To date, there has been no human food safety testing of Bt rice. "

 

China is a major exporter of rice and it is expected that the

contamination scandal may have significant trade and market impacts,

particularly in countries like Japan and Korea where consumer

rejection of GE

foods is very high. A similar case in the USA in 2000 resulted in a $1

billion product recall amid concerns of potential allergenic reactions

after GE corn (Starlink) illegally entered the human food chain.

 

" This will have a major impact on the Chinese as well as international

rice markets, " said Sze. " China is one of the world's major rice

exporters and our customers in Japan, Korea, Russia and Europe are

strongly

opposed to GE foods. "

 

Consumer concern over GE foods in China is also rising. In an opinion

poll released by Greenpeace in March, 73% of the respondents said they

would choose non-GE rice over GE rice.

 

China is considering commercialization of GE rice and officials have

indicated a decision may be made this year. The contamination scandal

raises the question of whether the government could regulate GE rice.

" The

government has not controlled GE rice in the research stage, how will

it regulate large scale commercialization? " Sze said.

 

 

Video and photo images of the GE rice are available from:

http://photos.greenpeace.org.au

 

For more information contact:

Sze Pang Cheung, GE Campaigner, Greenpeace China +86 13911460884

(Beijing)

Janet Cotter, Greenpeace International Science Unit, (UK) +44 781 217

4783 (UK)

Zhou Meiyue, Media Officer, Greenpeace China, mobile +86 139 100 36849

(Beijing)

Maya Catsanis, Media Officer, Greenpeace International, mobile +61 407

742 025 (Sydney)

 

(1) Moreno-Fierros, L., Garcia, N., Gutierrez, R., Lopez-Revilla, R. &

Vazquez-Padron, R.I.2000. Intranasal, rectal and intraperitoneal

immunization with protoxin Cry1Ac from Bacillus thuringiensis induces

compartmentalized serum, intestinal, vaginal and pulmonary immune

responses in

Balb/c mice. Microbes and Infectection 2: 885-890 and references

therein.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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