GE-Free NZ clutching at straws
Clinical trials involving any food product are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to do. Therefore they could not
produce meaningful results the Chairman of the Life Sciences Network Dr William Rolleston said today.
“No food product has ever been required to undergo clinical trials before release. That does not mean food products
aren’t tested.
“In fact, GE food products are more extensively tested than any other food product which has ever been released. In
addition to this many millions of consumers around the world have been eating food products derived from genetically
modified organisms for nearly 10 years and there hasn’t been a single substantiated report where consumers have suffered
any ill-effects which are attributable to GE.
“Reputable food safety agencies from around the world have decided that GE foods are at least as safe as, if not safer
than, their non-GM counterparts. Why is it that GE-Free NZ still persists in trying to persuade us to the contrary?
“They need to do better than misrepresenting the intent of other people’s statements. The fact that clinical trials have
not been conducted is already well established, and not remarkable given the fact that clinical trials do not help
establish toxicity or allergenicity impacts of food ingredients which have already been well characterised.
“Clinical trials are necessary for medicines where the chemicals being used are novel and the point of the trial is to
make sure those chemicals are doing what they were designed to do.
“GE-Free NZ should desist from their irresponsible attempts to create a food scare,” concluded Dr Rolleston.