19 juni '5: Illegale gentechrijst in China verkocht-grote risico's

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Bron;

greenpeace.org/china
Archief: genet-info

Titel; Guangzhou people are exposed to risks of untested GE rice 13 Jun 2005

Bekijk het gedetaileerde "investigative report"

Beijing, China -- Greenpeace has discovered illegal genetically engineered (GE) rice in Guangzhou, the largest city in Southern China, raising fears that the untested GE rice is spreading out of control and has entered the food chain in major Chinese cities.

The new evidence has been revealed only weeks after Greenpeace exposed that illegal GE rice had been growing in Hubei Province. Chinese officials announced that they would conduct an investigation into the scandal but it appears that no action has yet been taken - meanwhile contamination appears to be spreading.
Our researchers collected samples from rice wholesalers in Guangzhou, and two samples tested positive as GE rice in an independent laboratory in Germany. We have also revealed conclusive evidence of the source of the contamination in the new research.
Some GE rice seeds that were sold in the markets were advertised as a product of New Technology Company of Huazhong Agriculture University. This company is owned by the same University that is responsible for field trials of GE rice in Hubei.

It is estimated that up to 29 tons of GE rice seeds have been sold in Hubei this year, and if no recall action is taken, the seeds could produce up to 14,500 tons of GE rice when harvested.

China is a major exporter of rice and it is expected that the contamination scandal may have significant trade and market impacts, particularly in countries like Japan, Korea, Russia and Europe where consumer rejection of GE foods is increasingly high.

We are calling on the Chinese Government to take urgent action to recall the unapproved GE rice from the fields and from the food chain, to prevent consumers from exposure to risks of untested GE rice. Also, the Chinese Government should take immediate action against the researchers who are responsible for playing Russian roulette with our staple food crop.

PART II

GENET-news

Titel: Illegal Rice Found Again in China's Food Supply BRON: The New York Times, USA, by David Borboza nytimes.com/2005/06/14 Datum: 14 Jun 2005

Archief: http://www.genet-info.org/

Illegal Rice Found Again in China's Food Supply

SHANGHAI, June 13 - Genetically altered rice, which is not approved for human consumption anywhere in the world, has been found again in China's food supply, this time in one of the country's biggest cities, the environmental group Greenpeace said on Monday.
Researchers for Greenpeace say bags of rice purchased in the southern city of Guangzhou were tested by an independent laboratory and found to contain genetically altered rice, which is illegal to sell on the open market in China.

The findings suggest that China may have inadvertently become the first country where people are consuming genetically modified rice, even though safety testing has not yet been completed.

Scientists around the world continue to debate the use of genetically altered crops, but there has been little or no evidence that genetically altered crops are harmful to human health.

Two months ago, China's Ministry of Agriculture said it would investigate claims by Greenpeace that genetically altered rice was being illegally planted and sold in Hubei Province in central China. The findings have not yet been released.

Now, Greenpeace asserts that rice that has been genetically altered to resist pests has spread from experimental plots in Hubei to wholesale rice markets in Guangzhou, which is about 90 miles north of Hong Kong.

"This illegal and unapproved rice has spread out of Hubei Province and it is reaching other parts of the country," said Sze Pang Cheung, a Greenpeace researcher in Beijing.

Mr. Sze said Greenpeace bought the rice from a Guangzhou wholesaler, who buys from Hubei and then resells about 60 tons of rice a day, much of it to Guangzhou restaurants. Last April, Greenpeace said a group of "rogue scientists" in Hubei had allowed altered rice to illegally seep into a corner of the market by selling it to regular farmers.In the United States, the planting of genetically altered corn and soybeans is widespread. But since the late 1990's, European and American regulators have slowed the approval process over health and safety concerns, as well as consumer fears.

ART III

GENET-news
titel: llegal GMO Rice Spreads across China - Greenpeace Bron: Reuters Datum: 14 Jun 2005 Archief: www.genet-info.org--------
llegal GMO Rice Spreads across China - Greenpeace

BEIJING - The discovery of genetically modified rice being illegally sold in a booming southern Chinese city shows the grain is spreading across China and could enter markets overseas, Greenpeace said on Monday.

The environmental group said genetically engineered rice had been found at grain wholesalers in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, even though such rice had not gone through safety testing or been approved by the Chinese government.

Greenpeace in April announced it had found genetically engineered rice at markets in central Hubei province.
"We are sure that people are consuming it unknowingly," Greenpeace campaigner Sze Pang Cheung said at a news conference in Beijing, referring to rice that had been modified to contain the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which produces a toxin that kills pest.

"We are now facing the contamination of the most important staple crop in the whole world," Sze said.
Pressure to launch GMO rice in China comes at a time when the country is facing a tough task in raising urban grain output and narrowing the income gap between farmers and urban citizens.
Proponents of genetically modified crops say they will improve yield and reduce plants' vulnerability to pests. Opponents say pests will develop greater resistance to the modified crops, and that the techniques undermine biodiversity and could prove dangerous for human consumption.

GMO APPROVAL

China, the world's largest producer and consumer of rice, is testing several strains of genetically modified rice and is expected to grant approval for the commercialisation of such rice as early as this year.
China, one of the world's largest importers of GMO crops, said last month it had ratified a UN treaty that aims for more transparency and control over trade in genetically modified foods.

"China is sending a strong message to the world that it is no dumping ground for GM crops," Sze said at the time.

Chinese genetically engineered rice may have already made its way into exports of rice or rice-based products, Sze said on Monday.

But he acknowledged Greenpeace had no direct evidence of Bt rice leaving China.

Greenpeace estimated that up to 29 tonnes of genetically modified Bt rice seeds, capable of producing as much as 14,500 tonnes of rice, were illegally sold in Hubei this year.

"We think it is unacceptable and irresponsible that they are not taking this issue seriously because rice is the most important staple in China," Sze said.

The group called on the government to ban planting and sales of genetically engineered rice, recall and destroy all modified seeds on the market and punish people involved.

GENET European NGO Network on Genetic Engineering coordination(*)genet-info.org www.genet-info.org