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GE Contamination i.e., food, feed or a
related wild species containing unintended genetically engineered (GE) material
from a GE crop or other organism, has become a widespread and serious issue
raising global concern. The global concern is due to the fact that GE
contamination involves serious safety issues. This is why, Gene Watch UK and
Greenpeace International have brought out a report on GE contamination on a
global scale (GM Contamination Register Report-2005). The Report has
recorded cases of not only contamination but also illegal plantings or releases
of GE crops, and negative agricultural side-effects.
According to the
Report, , there were 88 cases of contamination, 17 illegal releases and eight
reports of negative agricultural side-effects during the first ten years of
commercial GE crop cultivation (1996-2005). And, this has spanned over 39
countries in five continents. Maize, soybean, rapeseed oil and cotton were the
four major commercial crops involved in either a contamination incident, an
illegal release or some negative agricultural side-effect. Apart from these,
grass, plum, potato, rice, sugar beet, tomato etc. were also involved in such
incidents. Even the food aids supplied to countries in need were also found
contaminated with GE ingredient.
According to the
Report, GE contamination has been found to arise at every stage of development-
from the laboratory to the field. Interestingly, in majority of the cases, the
major cause of seed contamination appeared to be cross-pollination in the field.
Poor quality control measures and failure of post-harvest segregation
also played an important role in food, feed or sseed contamination. Cases of
misidentification, failures in inspection and enforcement of controls on field
trials, lack of awareness of proper controls in laboratories were also
important factors. Poor quality control led to the growing of Syngenta’s
unapproved Bt 10 maize for four years in the USA and its exports to Ireland,
continental Europe and Japan.
In the absence of a
global monitoring system, it becomes very difficult to obtain information
regarding GE contamination. Those who are privy to the sensitive information
relating to GE crops do not put the relevant data in the public domain, making
it very difficult to detect contamination. Even the biotechnology industry is
not forthcoming about the issue. There are also a number of potentially
debilitating genes being introduced into crops – coding for drugs or other
biologically active compounds – that could easily escape detection. For example,
in 2005, 12 tonnes of GE peas with a bean alpha-amylase inhibitor gene had to be
destroyed when it was belatedly discovered in their development that the GE
version of the alpha-amylase inhibitor could cause an allergic reaction in mice.
It is possible that these peas could have gone astray in due course of time and
entered the food chain.
×Genenews
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