June 6, 2005

Safety of imported corn and soy products from genetically modified crops under question in India

Civil groups in India have questioned the safety of imported corn and soy products suspected to come from genetically modified (GM) crops. However, there is no way to know this for certain at the moment as India does not make labelling for GM foods mandatory, nor has it a well-established regulatory system for screening such imported products.

According to reports, data on the failure of the immune system and organ abnormalities in rats fed with GM maize have been leaked from secret research carried out by the American multinational food giant, Monsanto. In contrast, those that fed on normal maize were healthy.

However, Monsanto has declined to make its research report public, reports say.

Civil society groups like the Gene Campaign and the Forum for Biotechnology and Food Security on Friday, sought an immediate and complete ban on the release of GM foods, based on reports about the Monsanto research.

Both groups have demanded immediate publication of all food and feed safety data on the GM crops being researched in India, and strongly object to the government directly accepting food and feed data on GM crops from the companies themselves.

So far, no GM food has been approved in India except for Bt cotton, but GM products may be unknowingly imported due to lack of proper regulation, monitoring and testing facilities, official sources say.