Greens' worries over GE corn spark data check by regulator

Safety concerns have prompted a Transtasman food regulator to check the original data from a trial conducted on genetically engineered corn it approved last year for consumption.

"Monsanto are providing us with this data," says Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) general manager Melanie Fisher.

"We expect it in the next day or two and we will be looking at it immediately."

The Green Party yesterday raised safety questions over the corn, MON863, marketed as Maxguard and genetically engineered to incorporate the CryBb1 variety of Bt insect toxin which makes the corn resist rootworm pests.

The corn was developed for cultivation in North America, but Green Party GE spokeswoman Jeanette Fitzsimons said Monsanto had sought approval for its use in foods around the world, including New Zealand, where it was expected to enter the country mainly in processed foods.

But she said that at the same time FSANZ was approving MON863 for use in NZ foods, the French commission for genetic engineering was expressing grave concerns for its safety and that it was "not able to show the absence of health risks to animals".

The French daily newspaper Le Monde reported in April that a 90-day feeding trial by Monsanto showed differences in bin rats fed MON863, compared with those fed conventional corn. They included:

* Significant rise in males' white blood cells.

* Fewer immature red blood cells in females.

* Significant rise in blood sugar in females.

* More abnormalities such as degeneration or inflammation in the kidneys of male rats.

A spokesman for the French agency Commission du Genie Biomoleculaire (CGB), Gerard Pascal, told Le Monde: "What struck me in this file is the number of abnormalities."

The CGB turned down approval, but its decision was subsequently overturned by the European Food Safety Authority.

The Le Monde report was based on a leaked copy of a report from the French commission, which received the Monsanto report in June last year, Ms Fitzsimons said in Wellington.

"On checking FSANZ's report, prepared last October when it approved MON863 for New Zealanders to eat, we found no mention at all of the Monsanto rat study," Ms Fitzsimons said. "This makes us wonder whether they never saw the study or whether they just chose to ignore it."

The Green Party had now asked FSANZ to re-assess its approval for the GE corn. The party wants import of foods containing it to be suspended until safety could be guaranteed.

Ms Fisher said FSANZ reserved the right to review its decisions if new scientific evidence came to light.

- NZPA