The Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) Tuesday appeals to Health Canada to place a moratorium on approving new genetically modified (GM) foods, to re- evaluate the safety of GM foods already on the market, and to initiate a complete overhaul of the regulatory system.
The appeal comes in response to the republication of a long- term study of a GM corn that exposes a lack of scientific rigor in Canada's regulatory system.
"The results of this study are a real concern, especially in Canada where we have been eating this GM corn since 2001," CBAN said in a news release Tuesday.
It pointed out that many Canadians may be surprised to find out that Health Canada does not require any long-term safety tests on GM foods and that this study is the first of its kind. The long-term safety test on GM corn was conducted by a team of scientists in France, led by Caen University molecular biologist Giles-Eric Seralini. It was first published in September 2012 in the peer-reviewed journal Food and Chemical Toxicology, which then retracted the paper in November 2013.
The paper is published Tuesday in Environmental Sciences Europe. The research team has now also released their raw data.
"We clearly need more independent and critical review of safety claims made by industry. There is too little independent science examining questions of GM food safety," said the news release.
The GM corn, called NK603, is "Roundup Ready" which means it is genetically modified to be tolerant to Monsanto's pesticide formulation called Roundup, the most widely used pesticide in the world.
Monsanto published a 90-day feeding trial of the GM corn in 2004, three years after Health Canada's 2001 approval. The French team conducted their feeding trial over the full two-year lifespan of rats. The rats were fed three different diets: the GM corn alone, the GM corn grown with Roundup (with Roundup residues), and Roundup alone.
The study reported adverse effects including organ damage, tumor growth, and increased mortality in rats fed both GM corn with and without Roundup, and in rats fed low levels of Roundup.
"Canadians need to know about this study before they buy their sweet corn this summer," said Thibault Rehn of the Quebec coalition Vigilance OGM, "Without long-term studies like this one, we don't know enough about the safety of GM corn. It's important to remember that there is no labeling for consumers of GM foods."
CBAN tests of sweet corn samples in last October found GM sweet corn in grocery stores, road-side stands and farmers markets across Canada.
