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SOCIETY OF
TOXICOLOGY BACKS GM SUBSTANTIAL EQUIVALENCE
October 11, 2002
Crop Biotech Update
www.isaaa.org/kc
The Society of
Toxicology says that the risks associated with GM plants "are
not different in nature from those created by conventional breeding
practices for plant, animal, or microbial enhancement, and are
already familiar to toxicologists. It is therefore important to
recognize that it is the food product itself, rather than the process
through which it is made, that should be the focus of attention in
assessing safety. On this basis it backs the principle of substantial
equivalence, through which GM plants are evaluated in comparison to
their non-GM equivalents".
The Society of
Toxicology has just adopted a position paper, "The Safety of
Genetically Modified Foods Produced Through Biotechnology". It
says that > to establish substantial equivalence, extensive
comparative studies of the chemical composition, nutritional quality,
and levels of potentially toxic components in both the engineered and
conventional crop or animal are conducted. Notable differences
between the existing and new organism would require further
evaluation to determine whether the engineered form presents a higher
level of risk.
The Society
concludes that at present, "no verifiable evidence of adverse
health effects" of biotechnology-derived (BD) foods has been
reported, "although the current passive reporting system
probably would not detect minor or rare adverse effects or a moderate
increase in effects with a high background incidence such as
diarrhea." It notes that future genetic engineering projects
might cause more substantial and complex changes in a foodstuff.
"Methods
have not yet been developed with which whole foods (in contrast to
single chemical components) can be fully evaluated for safety,"
says the paper. "Progress also needs to be made in developing
definitive methods for the identification and characterization of
proteins that are potential allergens and this is currently a major
focus of research. A continuing evolution of toxicological
methodologies and regulatory strategies will be necessary to ensure
that the present level of safety of biotechnology-derived foods is
maintained in the future."
The full paper
is available at www.toxicology.org/Information/GovernmentMedia/GM_Food.html.
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