New study shows toxicity of GE maize approved for human consumption

Greenpeace demands immediate withdrawal of high-risk GE products

Berlin/ Paris 13 March 2007: Laboratory rats, fed with a genetically
engineered
(GE) maize produced by Monsanto, have shown signs of toxicity in kidney
and
liver, according to a new study.(1) This is the first time that a GE
product
which has been cleared for use as food for humans and animals has shown
signs
of toxic effects on internal organs.

The study, published today in the journal ?Archives of Environmental
Contamination and Toxicology?, analysed results of safety tests
submitted by
Monsanto to the European Commission when the company was seeking
authorisation
to market its GE Maize variety MON863 in the EU. (2)

The data shows that MON863 has significant health risks associated with
it;
nonetheless, the European Commission granted licences to market the
maize for
consumption by both humans and animals. (3)

The incriminating evidence was obtained by Greenpeace following a court
case
(4), and passed on for evaluation by a team of experts headed by
Professor
Gilles Eric Séralini, a governmental expert in genetic engineering
technology
from the University of Caen. (5)

In a joint press conference with Greenpeace at Berlin, Professor
Séralini said,
?Monsanto?s analyses do not stand up to rigorous scrutiny ? to begin
with, their statistical protocols are highly questionable. Worse, the
company
failed to run a sufficient analysis of the differences in animal
weight.
Crucial data from urine tests were concealed in the company?s own
publications.?

Greenpeace is demanding the complete and immediate withdrawal of
Monsanto?s
MON 863 maize from the global market and is calling upon governments to
undertake an urgent reassessment of all other authorised GE products
and a
strict review of current testing methods.

?This is the final nail in the coffin for the credibility of the
current
authorisation system for GE products. Once it?s known that a system
designed
to protect human and animal health has approved a high-risk product
despite
clear evidence of its dangers, we need to start ?strip-searching? all
GE
products on the market, and immediately abort this flawed approval
procedure,? said Christophe Then, Genetic Engineer campaigner,
Greenpeace
International.

The data in question has been the subject of fierce debate since 2003,
when
significant changes were identified in the blood of tested animals fed
on
MON863. MON863 was approved by the European Commission, in spite of
opposition
by a majority of EU member states, who raised concerns over the safety
of the
maize. Professor Séralini?s analysis now scientifically confirms these
concerns.

As the study states, ?with the present data, it cannot be concluded
that GM
corn MON863 is a safe product.? And yet, MON863 has been authorised for
markets in Australia, Canada, China, Japan, Mexico, the Phillipines,
and USA,
besides the EU.

?This is an international emergency alert, requiring a global
response,?
concluded Then, ?Only a complete withdrawal from all markets will
curtail the
possible damage.?

Notes to Editor:
1. The article is due to be published online
(http://www.springerlink.com/content/?k=1432-0703) by the American
journal
Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology; it will be
printed in
May. A copy can be faxed on request. A Greenpeace briefing on the study
is
available at:
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/reports/gp_briefing_seralini_study

2. The tested GE maize named MON 863 produces a new insecticide called
?modified Cry3Bb1? able to kill a pest insect in the soil (Diabrotica
virgifera). This GE maize also contains a gene coding for antibiotic
resistance.

3. The European Commission granted a license for MON 863 to be used in
feed in
August 2005, and subsequently approved it for human consumption in
January
2006.

4. For details, please refer to the Greenpeace paper: ?The MON863 case
-a
chronicle of systematic deception?
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/reports/mon863_chronicle_of_deception

5. The analysis team was headed by Professor Séralini from the
University of
Caen and included experts from the French independent scientific
organisation
CRIIGEN.

For further information please contact:
Christoph Then, Genetic Engineering campaigner, Greenpeace
International: +49
171 878 08 32

Namrata Chowdhary, Greenpeace International Communications: +44 77 261
751 48

Prof. Gilles-Eric Séralini, CRIIGEN : +33 231 56 56 84,
criigen [at] unicaen.fr

-------

Namrata Chowdhary
Greenpeace International Communications
+31 646 1973 27
When in UK: +44 77 2617 5418



_______________________________________________
Press-releases mailing list
Press-releases [at] mailman.greenpeace.org
http://mailman.greenpeace.org/mailman/listinfo/press-releases