- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The
Food and Drug Administration cannot guarantee the safety of genetically
modified foods because it is unable to obtain all scientific data from
biotech companies, a consumer group said on Tuesday.
-
- The Center for Science in the Public Interest said companies
like Monsanto Co., Syngenta AG and Dow Chemical Co.'s Dow AgroSciences
all declined to provide requested scientific data to the FDA about strains
of genetically engineered insect-resistant corn.
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- U.S. biotech companies are encouraged, but not required,
to submit food safety testing data to federal regulators for review. When
the FDA requested additional information, biotech companies complied only
half the time, according to an analysis of FDA data by the advocacy group.
-
- "With a legally mandated approval process, the FDA
can only review whatever data that a company lets it review," said
Doug Gurian-Sherman, the group's science director and author of the report.
-
- The Center for Science in the Public Interest, which
supports biotech crops, said gene-spliced foods currently being marketed
appeared to be safe for consumers. However, it said the FDA was "ill-equipped"
to assure the safety of more complex biotech foods in the future.
-
- FDA officials were not immediately available for comment.
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- BIOTECH INDUSTRY DISAGREES
-
- The Biotechnology Industry Organization, which represents
companies such as Monsanto, Syngenta and Dow Chemical, said its members
submit all necessary scientific data requested by the FDA.
-
- Lisa Dry, the trade group's spokeswoman, said if certain
information was not given, the FDA has the power to not allow the marketing
of a biotech product.
-
- "The FDA has all the authority necessary to collect
information from manufacturers and to ensure consumers the food supply
is safe," she said.
-
- The industry does support some changes in the regulatory
system to ease consumer concerns, including requiring companies submit
more detailed testing information.
-
- The United States is the world's largest producer of
crops that are genetically modified to make them resistant to pests, or
to withstand herbicides used to kill nearby weeds.
-
- Some U.S. trading partners, especially from Europe and
southern Africa, have imposed strict rules on genetically modified crops
due to concerns that they may be toxic and cause allergies. The United
States strongly disputes these claims.
-
- The FDA's stamp of approval on biotech foods are key
to consumer acceptance, both advocates and critics say.
-
- The report also found gaps in the scientific data provided
to the FDA by biotech companies.
-
- "We found that biotech companies weren't always
performing the right tests to look for potentially dangerous compounds,
including allergens," Gurian-Sherman said.
-
- The center's concerns were presented on Tuesday before
a panel of the National Academy of Sciences, which is studying the unintended
health effects of biotech foods. The panel's conclusions will be presented
to the FDA and the U.S. Agriculture Department.
-
- The Center for Science in the Public Interest recommended
the FDA require biotech companies submit more detailed testing information
and obtain federal approval before marketing their product.
-
- Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, is expected to
introduce legislation later this year that would give the FDA this authority,
the consumer group said.
-
- Concerns about biotech foods grabbed headlines two years
ago when banned StarLink corn was found to have entered the U.S. food chain,
sparking massive recalls of hundreds of corn products from grocery store
shelves across the country.
-
- Last month, the variety was found in a U.S. corn shipment
bound for Japan's food supply.
-
-
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thereon.
-
-
-
- Comment
-
- From Mary Sparrowdancer
sparrowdancer1@earthlink.net
1-8-3
-
- The key here is the statement by Lisa Dry, the trade
group's spokesperson: "The FDA has all the authority necessary to
collect information from manufacturers and to ensure consumers the food
supply is safe."=20
-
- The problem is, the FDA, USDA and the EPA rely primarily
upon the=20 product safety reports that are self-generated by the trade
group manufacturers - who stand to profit from their=20 proposed products.
This method casts=20 reasonable doubts on=20 whether such safety=20 reports
can be unbiased and reliable. =20
-
- In addition, the FDA, USDA and EPA continue to be staffed
by individuals who have also worked in various capacities with and for
the chemical, agricultural, and/or pharmaceutical manufacturers in the=20
trade group.=20
-
- While the potential for gross conflict of interest is
clearly apparent, it has yet to be adequately addressed or resolved by
the US government, primarily because the=20 public has been largely unaware
of this situation.=20
-
- For additional information, please see "Let Them
Eat Anything," below. http://www.rense.com/general31/elet.htm
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