China To Investigate Report Of GM Rice Experiment On Children
Please note that we are not authorised to provide any investment advice. The content on this page is for information purposes only.
The Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is set to investigate a claim that more than 20 Chinese children were fed illegal genetically modified (GM) rice during an experiment conducted by both Chinese and American researchers back in 2008, reported the China Daily on Wednesday.
The Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is set to investigate a claim that more than 20 Chinese children were fed illegal genetically modified (GM) rice during an experiment conducted by both Chinese and American researchers back in 2008, reported the China Daily on Wednesday.
The report noted that nearly 24 Chinese schoolchildren, aged between six and eight, may have been involved in the study – conducted jointly by the Zhejiang Academy of Medical Sciences in China and Tufts University in the U.S. – while the children had been fed with “Golden Rice”, which is genetically modified to reduce Vitamin A deficiency.
Though the study yielded positive results, according to a paper published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Chinese authorities from the health ministry and the CDC claim that the research methodologies had not been submitted to China’s health ministry or the CDC for approval.
[quote]”The Ministry of Health has asked the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate and find out the truth as soon as possible, and inform the public of the findings,” said Deng Haihua, a health ministry spokesman, at a news conference on Tuesday.[/quote]“The ministry will also pay close attention to the investigation,” he added.
Related: China Scrambles To Crack Down On “Fake Eggs”
Related: China To Impose Lifetime Bans For Food Safety Violators
The Wall Street Journal also reported on Tuesday that at least one Chinese researcher has already been suspended as a result of the study, which was only uncovered after the Greenpeace environmental group noticed the research findings published in the August edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
[quote]”It is incredibly disturbing to think that an American research body used Chinese children as guinea pigs for genetically engineered food,” said a statement by Greenpeace in August.[/quote]China is already the world’s largest grower of GM cotton and the top importer of GM soybeans, but it has remained cautious of GMO rice amid widespread public concern about food safety.
In 2009, authorities approved bio-safety evaluations for a locally developed strain of GM rice, known as Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis] rice, but commercial production is not expected until 2014.
Andrea Grossman, assistant director of public relations at Tufts University, told the Xinhua news agency that his university was deeply concerned about the allegations; and were reviewing protocols used in the 2008 research “to ensure the strictest standards were adhered to”.
“We have always placed the highest importance on human health, and we take all necessary steps to ensure the safety of human research subjects,” Grossman said.
Related: Is Monsanto Using Us As “Human Guinea Pigs”?
Related: EU To Permit Unapproved GMOs in Food Imports
Related: EU May Order France To Overturn Monsanto Ban
Still, several Chinese bloggers on the Sina Weibo microblogging service were sceptical on whether Chinese authorities really had no clue about the experiment.
[quote]”Why are these American experiments getting approvals from government departments?” wrote a blogger called summer4584, as cited by WSJ.[/quote]
