THIRD WORLD NETWORK BIOSAFETY INFORMATION SERVICE
Dear Friends and colleagues,
RE: Critical Review of Literature on Toxicology Studies of GM Products
A recent review of the scientific literature concerning potential toxic effects/health risks of GM plants published in 'Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition' has noted that published toxicological studies are very scarce. The paper found that most investigations correspond to short-term studies, mainly nutritional studies, with very limited toxicological information, while long-term toxicological studies on the safety of transgenic plants for animal and human consumption are lacking. Long-term studies on a case-by-case basis showing that the GM plant/food are toxicologically safe are necessary, before any conclusions can be drawn on the safety of GM plants/food.
The author concludes: 'The main goal of the present paper has been to review critically the published scientific literature concerning potential toxic effects/health risks of GM plants. It has been noted that experimental data are very scarce. As shown throughout the paper, most investigations correspond to short-term studies, mainly nutritional studies, with very limited toxicological information (Filip et al., 2004). Where are long-term toxicological studies that should guarantee the safety of the transgenic plants for animal and human consumption? (Patel et al., 2005). Because of the importance that the consumption of GM foods has acquired, as well as its enormous potential in the near future, the performance of a complete case-by-case study seems would be advisable (Weil, 2005). Long-term studies are clearly necessary. This review can be concluded raising the following question: where is the scientific evidence showing that GM plants/food are toxicologically safe, as assumed by the biotechnology companies involved in commercial GM foods?'
With best wishes,
Third World Network
Malaysia
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Website: www.biosafety-info.net and www.twnside.org.sg
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Toxicity Studies of Genetically Modified Plants: A Review of the Published Literature http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content?content=10.1080/10408390601177670Author: Jose L. Domingo a
Affiliation: a Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, 'Rovira I Virgili' University, San Lorenzo, Reus, Spain
DOI: 10.1080/10408390601177670
Publication Frequency: 10 issues per year Published in: Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, Volume 47, Issue 8 November 2007 , pages 721 - 733
Subject: Nutrition; Formats available: HTML (English) : PDF (English) Article Requests: Order Reprints : Request Permissions
Abstract
According to the information reported by the WHO, the genetically modified (GM) products that are currently on the international market have all passed risk assessments conducted by national authorities. These assessments have not indicated any risk to human health. In spite of this clear statement, it is quite amazing to note that the review articles published in international scientific journals during the current decade did not find, or the number was particularly small, references concerning human and animal toxicological/health risks studies on GM foods. In this paper, the scientific information concerning the potential toxicity of GM/transgenic plants using the Medline database is reviewed. Studies about the safety of the potential use of potatoes, corn, soybeans, rice, cucumber, tomatoes, sweet pepper, peas, and canola plants for food and feed were included. The number of references was surprisingly limited. Moreover, most published studies were not performed by the biotechnology companies that produce these products. This review can be concluded raising the following question: where is the scientific evidence showing that GM plants/food are toxicologically safe?