THIRD WORLD NETWORK BIOSAFETY INFORMATION SERVICE
Dear Friends and Colleagues
Lack of Scientific Studies on the Long-term Health Impacts of GM Food/Plants
In 2007 and 2011, two extensive reviews were done on studies on the health risks of GM foods. The first related to publications in scientific journals between January 1980 and May 2000, and the second was for the same between January 1980 and October 2006. The third review by the same scientist has recently been published.
There has been a considerable increase in the available information on the potential adverse/toxic effects of GM food in general, and GM plants in particular. The reported studies during the last six years show rather similar conclusions; that is, with a few exceptions, the assessed GM soybeans, rice, corn/maize and wheat would be as safe as the parental species of these plants.
However, the author disagrees with the use of the “substantial equivalence” concept as a guarantee of the safety of GM plants, finding no basis for assuming that GM plants and non-GM plants, with the same nutritional capacity, should have a similar absence of health risks. He points out that this principle is not being used for any other commercial products that humans consume.
He also points out that the most recent investigations, in which no adverse/toxic effects were observed, were sub-chronic (90-day) studies. When long-term studies were conducted (namely, Séralini et al. 2014), the results were tremendously controversial. Long-term studies on the safety of GM plants are still lacking. Therefore, he calls for such long-term studies, which should cover mutagenicity, teratogenicity and carcinogenicity among other health aspects, in order to guarantee that the consumption of GM plants does not pose any health risk to consumers.
With best wishes,
Third World Network
131 Jalan Macalister
10400 Penang
Malaysia
Website: https://biosafety-info.net/ and http://www.twn.my/
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SAFETY ASSESSMENT OF GM PLANTS: AN UPDATED REVIEW OF THE SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE
by José L. Domingo
Food Chem Toxicol. 2016 Jun 16;95:12-18. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2016.06.013.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691516301934
Abstract
In a wide revision of the literature conducted in 2000, I noted that the information in scientific journals on the safety of genetically modified (GM) foods in general, and GM plants in particular, was scarce. Of course, it was not sufficient to guarantee that the consumption of these products should not mean risks for the health of the consumers. Because of the scientific interest in GM organisms (GMOs), as well as the great concern that the consumption of GM foods/plants has raised in a number of countries, I conducted two subsequent revisions (2007 and 2011) on the adverse/toxic effects of GM plants. In the present review, I have updated the information on the potential adverse health effects of GM plants consumed as food and/or feed. With only a few exceptions, the reported studies in the last six years show rather similar conclusions; that is to say, the assessed GM soybeans, rice, corn/maize and wheat would be as safe as the parental species of these plants. However, in spite of the notable increase in the available information, studies on the long-term health effects of GM plants, including tests of mutagenicity, teratogenicity and carcinogenicity seem to be still clearly necessary.