Uncovered, the 'toxic' gene hiding in GM crops: Revelation throws new doubt over safety of foods

  • EU watchdog reveals approval for GM foods fails to identify poisonous gene
  • 54 of the 86 GM plants approved contain the dangerous gene
  • Gene found in food for farm animals producing meat, milk and eggs
  • Biotech supporters argue there is no evidence that GM foods are harmful

By Sean Poulter, Consumer Affairs Editor

|

A virus gene that could be poisonous to humans has been missed when GM food crops have been assessed for safety.

GM crops such as corn and soya, which are being grown around the world for both human and farm animal consumption, include the gene.

A new study by the EU's official food watchdog, the European Food Safety Authority(EFSA), has revealed that the international approval process for GM crops failed to identify the gene.

A new study conducted by the EU has shown that standard test for GM foods may be missing a potentially poisonous gene for humans

A new study conducted by the EU has shown that standard tests for GM foods may be missing a potentially poisonous gene for humans

As a result, watchdogs have not investigated its impact on human health and the plants themselves when assessing whether they were safe.

The findings are particularly powerful because the work was carried out by independent experts, rather than GM critics.

It was led by Nancy Podevin, who was employed by EFSA, and Patrick du Jardin, of the Plant Biology Unit at the University of Liege in Belgium.

They discovered that 54 of the 86 GM plants approved for commercial growing and food in the US, including corn and soya, contain the viral gene, which is known as 'Gene VI'.

 

In this country, these crops are typically fed to farm animals producing meat, milk and eggs.

Significantly, the EFSA researchers concluded that the presence of segments of Gene VI 'might result in unintended phenotypic changes'.

Such changes include the creation of proteins that are toxic to humans. They could also trigger changes in the plants themselves, making them more vulnerable to pests.

Critics say the revelations make clear that the GM approvals process, which has been in place for 20 years, is fatally flawed.

They argue the only correct response is to recall all of the crops and food products involved. Director of the campaigning group, GM Freeze, Pete Riley, said the discovery of the gene, 'totally undermines claims that GM technology is safe, precise and predictable'.

He said: 'This is a clear warning the GM is not sufficiently understood to be considered safe. 'Authorisation for these crops must be suspended immediately, and they should be withdrawn from sale, until a full and extended review of their safety has been carried out.'

Typically, GM crops are modified in the laboratory to give them resistance to being sprayed with powerful weed killers such as Monsanto's Round-up.

This means that, in theory, fields can be doused with the chemical, so wiping out the weeds and allowing the food plants to thrive.

It was previously assumed that virus genes are not present in plants once they are grown in the field and reach consumers, however it is now clear that this is not the case

It was previously assumed that virus genes are not present in plants once they are grown in the field and reach consumers, however it is now clear that this is not the case

The modification process involves inserting genes into the plants using a technique that allows them to piggyback on viruses that are commonly found in the soil and plants.

It has been assumed that virus genes are not present in the plant once it is grown in the field and reaches consumers, however it is now clear that this is not the case.

A review of the EFSA research in Independent Science News said the presence of the viral gene appears to have been missed by biotech companies, universities and government regulators.

'This situation represents a complete and catastrophic system failure,' it said. 'There are clear indications that this viral gene might not be safe for human consumption. It also may disturb the normal functioning of crops, including their natural pest resistance.

'A reasonable concern is that the protein produced by Gene VI might be a human toxin. This is a question that can only be answered by future experiments.'

Biotech supporters argue that there is no evidence from countries such as the USA that eating GM food causes any harm.

However, the reality is that no health monitoring has taken place to establish this. The findings will embarrass the government and the food and farming Secretary, Owen Patterson, who has embarked on a pro-GM propaganda exercise designed to win over sceptical consumers.

Mr Patterson recently rejected public concerns as 'humbug' and 'complete nonsense'. Policy director at the Soil Association, Peter Melchett said: 'For years, GM companies have made a deliberate and chilling effort to stop independent scientists from looking at their products.

'This is what happens when there is a complete absence of independent scrutiny of their GM crops.' Biotech firms are represented by the Agricultural Biotechnology Council(ABC).

Its chairman, Dr Julian Little, said the EFSA study was one small part of a strict and complex scrutiny process.

He said: 'Over the past 25 years, the European Commission has funded more than 130 research projects involving 500 independent research groups which have found no higher risks to the environment or food chain from GM crops than from conventional plants and organisms.

'Furthermore, nearly three trillion meals containing GM ingredients have been eaten without a single substantiated case of ill-health. The combination of these two facts can give consumers a huge amount of confidence in the safety of GM crops.'

GM critics and EFSA are at odds over the implications of the research paper, which was written by the deputy chairman of the organisation’s advisory panel on the issue and a former senior member of staff.

EFSA insists that the research highlighting the presence of Gene VI does not represent a new discovery of a viral gene and does not indicate a safety concern about GM crops already approved.

It said the viral gene ‘cannot infect animals or humans and therefore presents no threat to human or animal health’. This is challenged by GM critics who say there is no research evidence to justify this statement.


 

The comments below have not been moderated.

Rubbish ! We have a lot of Greenies that will make a case against anything not "organic" Move on, nothing important happening here.

Click to rate     Rating   106

"Hey Donna of Bismark, how many of those wild chicks survive I wonder? I would imagine it is necessary for survival of a breed to lay more eggs in the wild, as opposed to in captivity." That could be a factor, although the 'wild' flock has access to two outbuildings during the winter months and have the backs of sheep to roost upon when the temps go well below zero F. There are many more 'wild' chickens than cooped which require purchased chicks to replace.

Click to rate     Rating   1

last year i was an innocent gardner who only wanted to buy some sweet corn seeds, i did not want to pay £7 for 250gr so i went onto the WEB to see if i could buy 1 kilo of seed, , then WOW a world opened up that i knew NOTHING about, i spent the next month e-mailing people and asking ?, i am horrified what i learnd, HORRIFIED, one link after another, told such stories you could not make them up, it end'd with e-mails from canada to australia, i was looking for assurance that i was buying non gm sweetcorn, i bought none!!!!!!!,did anyone watch the program on indian farmers ????

Click to rate     Rating   72

GM foods fails to identify poisonous gene, they didn't fail, they just didn't want to tell u. As for getting anything from eating, look at the first Batman movie and think about it.

Click to rate     Rating   45

"Furthermore, nearly three trillion meals containing GM ingredients have been eaten without a single substantiated case of ill-health." - All the gluten allergies that are suddenly popping up everywhere you look and the epidemic of obesity and sickness in this country...yeah aside from that we're all healthy...

Click to rate     Rating   157

"Furthermore, nearly three trillion meals containing GM ingredients have been eaten without a single substantiated case of ill-health." - All the gluten allergies that are suddenly popping up everywhere you look and the epidemic of obesity and sickness in this country...yeah aside from that we're all healthy...

Click to rate     Rating   42

Human greed knows no bounds, all we are to the corporations are consumer cash cows

Click to rate     Rating   91

Oh Lordy....how many of you have even read any research about this? P6 is a soluble effector protein which blocks plant hormonal pathways, it might be harmful to plant human hybrids like ents...but certainly not mammals...

Click to rate     Rating   72

So the truth is out that GM foods were intended to kill off the plebs

Click to rate     Rating   82

Dr Doom - there is a short question and answer article on the EFSA website indicating the relevant paper was published by academic journal GM Crops and Food: Biotechnology in Agriculture and the Food Chain. The FAQ states, as many posters here have, that Gene VI was already known. It also states from which plant virus the gene comes from and the overlap of promoter and vector sequence and that this GM product was approved with the knowledge that this gene cannot infect animals and though can infect plants has no recorded health effects after consumption. As DM states nearly 3 trillion meals containing GM have been produced with no ill side effects. Not that the general public will take any notice.

Click to rate     Rating   62

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.