Public Become Lab Rats in FSANZ Cocktail Approval

The lack of any animal feeding studies on a GE soybean designed to survive spraying with a cocktail of herbicides, will leave the public no better than lab rats unless the approval is immediately stopped.

The latest Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) application (A1073) by Dow, Monsanto and Bayer is for soybeans designed to survive a cocktail of 2,4-D, glufosinate ammonium and RoundUp. [1]

Yet there is not one study into the combined effects of these chemicals. The application instead cites unpublished studies by Dow Chemical that include no food safety studies.

"It is the duty of FSANZ to require animal feeding studies," says Jon Carapiet, spokesman for GE-Free NZ in food and environment. “They must look at the implications for food safety of the chemical cocktail now able to be used.”

“FSANZ regulators say they evaluate applications on scientific merit, yet they have provided no feeding data for submitters to evaluate,” says Claire Bleakley president of GE Free NZ.

“It is imperative that feeding studies are conducted on the interaction and effects of the three toxic herbicides on human health before it is approved for eating, especially given the life time rat feeding study published in September [2] which found tumours and highly deleterious effects from the daily ingestion of GE foods with RoundUp."

The urgent need for FSANZ to stop this approval is supported by the report of senior scientists in India which has led to the Supreme Court of India mandating a ten year moratorium on all GM crops.[3]

The scientists identified serious problems in regulation of GM foods, including the absolute necessity of animal feeding studies.

The FSANZ Applications (A1073) safety assessment concluding statement says: “No potential public health and safety concerns have been identified in the assessment of soybean…On the basis of the data provided in the present Application, and other available information… food derived from soybean line is considered to be as safe for human consumption as food derived from conventional soybean cultivars”.

"The reason there are no potential health and safety concerns identified is because there is no data conducted or supplied to identify health risks" said Claire Bleakley

"FSANZ is deliberately misleading the public by pretending they have assessed safety data that doesn't even exist.”

References:

[1] Application A1073 : Food derived from Herbicide-tolerant Soybean DAS-44406-6 http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/foodstandards/applications/applicationa1073food5541.cfm

[2] Seralini. G-E., Clair. E., Mesnage. R., Gress. S., Defarge. N., Malatesta. M,. Hennequin. D. and de Vendomois. JS. (2012) Long term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize. Food and Chemical Toxicity. Vol: 50, (11) 4221–4231http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2012.08.005

[3] http://indiagminfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/SC-TEC-interim-report-oct17th-2012-GMO-PIL.pdf

[4] http://press.gefree.org.nz/press/20120924.htm & www.gefree.org.nz

ENDS:

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