LL Rice Scandal -- LL62 assessed for animal feed only
3 September 2006
Wait for it --- FSA, DEFRA and ACNFP will shortly tell us that LL601 is perfectly OK for human consumption because it is "almost identical" to LL62, which has a "positive assessment" from the UK competent authority. What they will omit to tell us is that that assessment in 2003-2004 was for animal feed only. There has been NO scientific assessment in Europe for the use of LL62 rice for human consumption.
It is still in the EFSA pipeline, with a lot of info still required before the opinion of the GMO panel can be given.
Note that ACRE took the lead in making that assessment -- as far as one can make out, ACNFP offered no committee comment, apart from inviting its members to contribute individually in writing. Their letters appear to have been forwarded to DEFRA. There has apparently never been any formal Committee discussion in ACNFP on LL62 or LL601 rice.
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Chapter and verse:
Assessment Report of the UK Competent Authority (Jan 04)
ACRE took the lead in 2003 and seem to have been not entirely satisfied. ACRE meeting on 25 Nov 2003 to discuss the LL62 application. ACAF had a slight input -- all agreed in the end to support the applic. ACNFP looked at the application but offered no comments! In other words, through on the nod!
NB The application was for marketing for animal feeds -- NOT for human consumption. In the Intro (p 2 0f 13) it says:
"No applic has yet been made by Bayer to market LLRICE62 and its products under the novel food and novel food ingredients regulation 287/97. Any future application for food use would be made under the genetically modified food and feed regulation 1829/2003 which comes into effect in April 2004."
Under Procedure (Para 1.1) on p 2 it says "Study details and experimental data were requested to support the conclusion that no differences were identified for nutritive value of the rice grain and no indications of toxic or adverse effects were associated with any opf the sources of rice in either of the tested animal species (poultry and swine." Difficult to assess whether Bayer ever did satisfy ACRE on this point.
Conditions of consent: 10.1 on p 8 of 13. (a) an annual report on the outcome
of general surveillance;
(b) the LLRICE62 discriminating PCR protocol must be made public
(c) reference material (seed and DNA) must be provided for the JRC upon request
(d) all labelling and traceability requirements must be met
LL62 Applic to the EU (26 Aug 2004) this was for import and processing, food
and food ingredients. and feed/feed material. The dossier is on the EFSA web
site:
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/de/science/gmo/gm_ff_applications/more_info/595.html
Acknowledged as valid 14 Jan 2005
NB -- At the moment, there is no scientific opinion on this application.
on p 20. para 9.6 -- "No effects on human health are indicated for people working with, coming into contact with or in the vicinity of an environmental release of LLRICE." No evidence, no tests or trials -- nothing in support of this statement. Animal feeding studies interpreted -- as ever -- as showing "nutritional equivalence." (p 21)
p 24 para 12 -- "A discriminating PCR method and control materials have
been provided to the DG JRC as defined by EU regulation 1829/2003." In
other words, this has not been made public........ also, it is unclear what
info JRC now has in its possession.