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thurs 22 august 2002
gm food aid: eu urged not to do america’s
dirty work
Friends of the Earth Europe today urged
the EU not to support America’s push to dump
genetically modified (GM) foods in Africa as
food aid. Instead it should do more to
support countries which refuse to accept the
controversial ingredients. Newspaper reports
suggest that the EU may declare some GM maize
“safe” at a meeting in Harare of southern
African countries and the World Health
Organisation on Monday despite no GM maize
being approved for food use in Europe through
a full safety assessment procedure in Europe
(see table
).
The EU is under pressure from the United
States to confirm that GM maize is safe to
eat and to urge African countries to accept
it as food aid. GM foods and crops are a
controversial issue in Europe with major food
companies avoiding them. Only one GM maize is
grown commercially in Spain in a small area.
Since 1998 the EU has refused to approve
further marketing applications for GM
maize.
Some GM maize products are used in some
processed foods in the EU because of a legal
loophole, since closed. There is widespread
controversy over GM maize:
• Bayer’s T25 maize – although approved
for food use using a loophole there has been
widespread concern about its safety. Company
testing showed that twice as many chickens
died who ate the GM maize to those that
didn’t. The company’s research has been
severely criticized and was described by one
independent scientist as “not good enough to
base a student project on, let alone a
marketing consent for a GM product”. •
Syngenta’s Bt176 – even though 13 out of 15
European states objected the maize was still
approved food food use before safety
regulations were introduced. The maize
contains an ampicillan resistance gene
(ampicillin is an important antibiotic). New
EU regulations come into force in October
phasing out the use of these genes in GM
crops. • Processed products from four GM
maizes were put on the market using a
loop-hole in the law which allowed companies
to notify European countries that they wanted
to market their foods, while avoiding a full
safety assessment. The loop-hole has since
been closed.
Adrian Bebb, GM Campaigner at Friends of
the Earth Europe, said:
“The EU should stand firm and not do
America’s dirty work. If countries wish to
avoid GM foods and crops then their wishes
should be respected. The EU should do more to
ensure that non-GM food aid is available if
these countries request it – especially if
other countries are offering non-GM maize. No
GM maize food has been approved through the
full safety system in Europe and substantial
concerns over the safety remain.”
CONTACT: Adrian Bebb in the UK - 00 44 771
2843211 (mobile)
Juan Lopez in Johannesburg – 00 27 72 401 53
90 (mobile)
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