Greenpeace
Press Release and background documentation, 13. March 2007: New study reveals
signs of toxicity of GE maize approved for human consumptionMon 863 is a Bt maize developed by Monsanto to kill the corn rootworm, which
attacks the roots of maize plants. It has been approved in the USA in 2002 and
was planted there with mixed success for the first time on commercial scale
in 2004. The corn rootworm has been inadvertedly imported from the USA to Europe
ten years ago and is expanding since in some areas.
During the risk assessment of Mon 863 serious scientific questions on the maize
safety for humans and animals arose, as rat feeding studies showed significant
health impacts. The concerns have been dismissed by the European Food Safety
Authorities Scientific Committee. Approval of Mon 863 for human consumption
and animal feed has been granted in January 2006 against a majority of member
states votes in the Council of ministers (June 2005) by the European Commission
in January 2006. No application has been submitted so far for cultivation.
Council of Environment Ministers vote on Commission proposal for approval of Mon863, 24 June 2005, In favour: 121, against: 142, abstentions: :58
European
Commission: Proposal for a Council decision regarding the placing on the market
of Mon 863 26. April 2005
Preliminary
report by CRIIGEN on the “first public investgation of the crude data
In Mon 863 toxicity test on rats”
D. Cellier and G.E. Seralini,
October 2005
Greenpeace
PR: Court orders Monsanto to make scandal report public 11. June 2005
Summary
of the rat study
13-Week Dietary Subchronic Comparison
Study with MON 863 Corn in Rats Preseded by a 1-Week Baseline Food Consumption
Determination with PMI Certified Rodent Diet #5002
Full
study (1100 pages!)
Prof.
Arpad Pusztai: Interim report and preliminary evaluation of the summary report
on the MON 863 study in rats October 2004
Details
on MON863 hybrids MON863xMON810, MON863xNK603 and MON863xMON810xNK603, and on
EFSA's opinion about them
A dossier by Antje Lorch at
IFRIK
GENET:
EU demands Monsanto's test results on controversial corn 23. May 2005
Independent
on Sunday: Revealed: health fears over secret study into GM food 22. May
2005
Monsanto:
Backgrounder on MON 863 YieldGard® Rootworm Maize 22 May 2005
EFSA
opinion on new GM maize: MON 863 maize considered as safe as conventional maize
20. April 2005
Reuters:
EU Experts Fail To Authorise New Biotech Maize, 30.November 2004
Results
of the Vote in the Standing Committee on GMOs, 29. November 2004
EFSA:
Statement of the Scientific Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms, 20.October
2004
on an evaluation of the 13-week rat feeding study on MON 863
Vote in Standing Committee postponed as member states reject Mon 863, News, September 20, 2004
SUMMARY
NOTIFICATION INFORMATION FORMAT (SNIF) MON 810 x Mon 863
Assessment
report of the Robert Koch Institute (Germany) April 2003
EFSA:
Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms on Mon 863
x Mon 810 (April 2004)
EFSA assessed GM maize MON863 as harmless
On 19th of April 2004, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published the
opinion of the GMO Panel on Monsanto’s GM maize MON863. The GMO Panel
rated the GM maize as harmless, although in the feeding experiments on rats
noticeable aberration appeared. Rats fed with MON863 GM maize over 90 days showed
altered blood levels, namely a slight increase in the white globules. The EFSA
judged this alteration as biologically not significant because the alterations
were in the range of the standard deviation of the control group. With reference
to the great standard deviations, the EFSA also rated the significantly lower
weight and histological alterations in the group fed with GM maize as insignificant.
Greenpeace:
Technical comments on Mon 863 (scientific assessment of safety), May 2004
detailed scientific assessment of the information avaiable on Mon 863.
GENET:
Le Monde (France) discloses critical results of GE maizefeeding studies
April 2004
Le
Monde: L'expertise confidentielle sur un inquiétant maïs transgénique
April 2004
Massive concerns of the French Food Safety authority on Mon 863 are revealed
by Herve Kempf in Le Monde.
Evaluation
of the safety studies on Mon 863 by Prof. Arpad Pusztai September 2004
Cropchoice:
Some farmers question Yield Guard's quality (September 2004)
New Zealand:
Scoop: GE corn that caused rat abnormalities approved September 2004
USA:
Agbios
Database Description
"Maize line MON 863 was produced using recombinant-DNA techniques to express
the cry3Bb1 gene encoding a Coleopteran-specific insecticidal protein from Bacillus
thuringiensis (subsp. kumamotoensis) in order to control infestation with corn
root worm. This gene was introduced into the publicly available inbred line,
A634, by particle acceleration (biolistic) transformation.
The cry3Bb1 gene encodes the insect control protein Cry3Bb1, a delta-endotoxin.
Cry proteins, of which Cry3Bb1 is only one, act by selectively binding to specific
sites localized on the lining of the midgut of susceptible insect species. Following
binding, pores are formed that disrupt midgut ion flow, causing gut paralysis
and eventual death due to bacterial sepsis. Cry3Bb1 is lethal only when eaten
by Coleopteran species, including corn root worm, and its specificity of action
is directly attributable to the presence of specific binding sites in the target
insects. There are no binding sites for the delta-endotoxins of B. thuringiensis
on the surface of mammalian intestinal cells, therefore, livestock animals and
humans are not susceptible to these proteins.
more
US
APHIS approval (2002)
US
Food and Drug Administration detailed description of Mon 863
Union
of Concerned Scientists Comments (2002)
Centre
for Food Safety Comments (2002)
Health
Canada decision document Mon 863Detection
methods review by the EU Joint Research Centre