A French researcher who claims a link between genetically modified corn and cancer on Tuesday said he would publish his work, the day after the EU, which has cleared the maize, promised to make public its own assessment.
“We want there to be a review and that the research which allowed them to establish their position … be made public. After that, we will make everything public,” Gilles-Eric Seralini of the University of Caen said.
On Monday, the European Food Safety Authority said that “given the level of public interest … (it would) make all data on genetically modified maize NK603 publicly available on its website.”
While the EFSA had previously provided such information on request, “any member of the public or scientific community will now be able to examine and utilise the full data sets used in this risk assessment,” it said in a statement.
The EFSA, which reviews the use and authorisation of such crops and foodstuffs, in November rejected a report by Seralini which linked NK603 to cancer found in laboratory rats as failing to meet “acceptable scientific standards.”
The EU demanded that Seralini release full details of his work but he responded in kind, calling on the EFSA to open up its data first. Seralini said the EFSA announcement on NK603, developed by US agri-business giant Monsanto, was “half a victory, a first step towards transparency,” adding that he wanted to see its work on the pesticide Roundup too. Monsanto makes Roundup for use with genetically modified crops, which are bred to be resistant to it.
AFP via Phys.org
January 15, 2013
