GE free NZ in Food & Environment Inc.

Friday, 24 September 2004, 5:33 pm
Press Release: GE free NZ in Food Environment Inc

No system to recall Monsanto Corn as confusion reigns

Confusion reigns at the authorities supposedly responsible for any recall of Monsanto's MON 863 corn which was found to have harmed rats in feed -trials.

It is clear that authorities have no action-plan to track or recall the product irrespective of how serious the threat to human health is found to be.

GE-Free NZ consumer representative on the Food safety forum has even had a request from NZFSA for information about when FSANZ authorised the product to enter the food chain, and appear to have not the slightest idea where it might be used or consumed.

"We hope for the sake of the public and the integrity of the food supply that the repercussions are not serious," says Jon Carapiet from GE free NZ in food and environment.

"We just do not know and that is why the inadequate system in place for tracking and recall is so concerning."

What happens next time, or for that matter right now, when a serious threat is identified and the authorities throw up their hands and say they do not know what to do?

It is simply not good enough.These authorities are playing Russian Roulette with the food supply and they don't even know how many bullets there are, or in which guns.

We need the system to be rehauled immediately and for those who have failed to deliver adequate systems so far to resign.

It is time the government took action instead of pretending nothing ever goes wrong so we dont need a recall system that can actually be implemented.

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