Supermarkets are being asked to pull GE Maize flour off the shelves, after new analysis of 19 animal studies found increased risk of kidney and liver damage.
�The adverse effects showing up in the animal testing of GE foods directly implicate the type of GM Maize and Soya being sold in New Zealand,� says Claire Bleakley, president of GE-Free NZ.
�These foods were approved as safe without any rigorous or published safety tests. They should not be on sale given the organ damage confirmed by this meta study.�
GE-Free NZ (in food and environment) have identified specific GE products currently on sale, and asked that they be immediately withdrawn.
The latest independent analysis confirms that the risks of GE foods are now significant enough for retailers to halt sales of all identifiable GM products.
The Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has been remiss in approving these GE food crops for human consumption without assessing safety adequately, or monitoring the effects on public health.
Consumers must now rely on the supermarkets to act responsibly, given the breakdown in government regulation and the failure to properly and independently safety-test these foods.
The scientists from Caen University warn that the integrity of the food system and human health are at risk because of the inadequate safety testing by authorities in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
All major supermarkets in New Zealand and Australia have a GE-free policy for their house-brands, but some sell other brands of GE food products. It is in the interests of the Grocery retail industry and their customers, that supermarkets withdraw those products and support an application to FSANZ to reassess all GM crop foods that have been approved into the food chain.
The meta-analysis found gender differences in the organs most damaged.
Forty-three percent of significant abnormalities were found in the kidneys of males. The liver was more affected in females and the kidney was more affected in males.
Consumers are not being provided with sufficient information. For their protection the most vulnerable populations such as pregnant women, infants, and people with reduced immunity, should be warned they are particularly at risk.
ENDS
Claire Bleakley 06- 3089842 / 027 348 6731
References
CRIIGEN - Committee for Research and Independent Information on Genetic Engineering http://www.criigen.org/SiteEn/
S�ralini G-E., Mesnage R., Clair E., Gress S., de Vend�mois J and Cellier D., Genetically modified crops safety assessments: present limits and possible improvements. Environmental Sciences Europe 2011 23:10.doi:10.1186/2190-4715-23-10
http://www.enveurope.com/content/pdf/2190-4715-23-10.pdf
GM Feed Toxic, New Meta Analysis Confirms
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/GM_Feed_toxic_new_metaanalysis_confirms.php
A meta-analysis on 19 studies confirms kidney and liver toxicity in rats and mice fed on GM soybean and maize, representing more than 80 percent of all commercially available GM food; it also exposes gross inadequacies of current risk assessment Dr Eva Sirinathsinghji
http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/2011/08/29/organ-disruption-linked-to-genetically-modified-crops/
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