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A big letter day for the Green Party

Thursday 19 April 2007, 7:17PM

By Infonews Editor

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FSANZ
FSANZ Credit: NZ Green Party
Repeated calls to Food Standards Australia New Zealand for it to withdraw its approval of a potentially harmful genetically modified Monsanto corn have gone unanswered, so today the Green Party decided to shout louder in the form of a giant open letter.

Greens’ Co-Leader Jeanette Fitzsimons delivered what is thought to be New Zealand’s largest open letter to FSANZ’s Wellington office on The Terrace. Because of its immense size it was decided not to take it into the office, but instead to stand across the street and phone the officials so they could come to their windows to read it.

The letter, which is 2.5 metres wide and 4 metres long, asks FSANZ to immediately withdraw its approval for human and animal consumption of MON863 after it was revealed the company hid test results showing it had adverse affects when tested on rats.

Monsanto was forced by a German court to reveal raw data it had concealed from the public relating to its testing of MON863, used when it sought approval to import it into the European Union.

FSANZ accepted the misleading Monsanto interpretation of the rat feeding study. It approved MON863 for animal feed and human consumption in this country in April 2004.

FSANZ’s approval of MON863 for use in food and feed in New Zealand should be immediately withdrawn. The Authority should not just rely on information provided by applicant companies, but instead should contract independent studies to ensure food safety. This case clearly highlights why this is necessary, Ms Fitzsimons says.

An independent scientific evaluation of the raw data of Monsanto’s 13-week rat feeding study, submitted to the European authorities, shows that the company mis-analysed the test’s results and used highly questionable statistical procedures. Independent analysis of the raw data, after it was made public, showed the rats’ kidney and liver function was disturbed and their growth was slowed.

After the Green Party highlighted concerns about MON863 in 2004, FSANZ was provided with the raw data of the Monsanto study, but it continued to accept the company’s flawed interpretation.

“FSANZ must stop accepting company propaganda in the place of scientific evidence, and demand to see the test data of animal feeding studies,” Ms Fitzsimons says.