Banned GM Corn Found in Saudi Arabia


B. McPherson
Troubling research 
Starlink corn(maize) developed by Aventis and taken over by Bayer has been banned for more than ten years, yet testing of food in Saudi Arabia shows its unwanted presence. Starlink was never approved for human consumption because of its potential to set up allergic reactions. It was approved only for cattle feed and industrial uses.

Starlink was developed to have a built in pesticide that would kill corn ear worm and root worms. The whole plant then engineered to be poisonous to the pests. Unfortunately, it had a possibility that humans would react badly to the corn as well. The bacterial gene inserted into the corn DNA is labelled  Cry9C.

Approval for widespread US planting was granted by the EPAin 1998. Testing in 2000 showed the presence of the modified corn in taco shells, indicating that the Starlink had entered the human food supply. Aventis promptly withdrew its production of the GM corn. The FDA became involved and tested mills around the country where widespread contamination was detected. Testing after 2003 failed to show the presence of Starlink in the US food supply. In the FDA paper dated April 2008 the administration recommended the cessation of testing for the Cry9C gene in corn supplies.

Despite assurances that Starlink would no longer be manufactured, it has resurfaced periodically to contaminate food supplies. Saudi Arabia has allowed the importation of GM foods but only when clearly labelled in both English and Arabic as such. They have further restrictions on products of GM technology. In spite of their controls, testing by scientists showed the presence of the banned corn more than ten years after it was purported to have been taken off the market.

This is not the first time that StarLink has shown up in offshore food supplies. Food aid bound for Central America after 2000, had to be refused because it tested positive for the banned grain.

Despite these assurances, aid sent by the UN World Food Program and the US to a number of Central American nations was found to be highly contaminated with StarLink corn. 80% of the 50 samples tested came back positive for StarLink maize and Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador were all compelled to refuse the aid, according to the journal Green Med. RT
The ability of corn seeds to germinate rapidly declines as time passes. It is most unlikely that commercial growers would be using anything but fresh seed. This leaves us with the questions – who is and where is this corn grown?

Labelling of food and food like products that contain genetically modified organisms is not required in Canada or the US. The delivery of chimera organisms to our food plates may not be harmful to us. The minute amounts of glyphosate adhering to the plant products may not harm us either, but we will never know as this massive food experiment runs through our supermarkets and bodies with no consent of the participants and no controls.

Ref:
GM Watch 

Journal of Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology

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