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Minister dispels uncertainty over GM tests on honey
18/10/2002
Scottish Environment and Rural Development Minister,
Ross Finnie, has published advice that clarifies the
implications of test results which suggested that honey
from a hive in North East Fife may have been contaminated
with pollen from a nearby GM crop.
The advice was commissioned by the Scottish Executive to
provide an independent assessment of tests conducted on
behalf of the Sunday Times. In a letter to the editor of
the Sunday Times, Mr Finnie says he is keen to dispel
public uncertainty. But he said that independent scientific
advice from Food Standards Agency, the Scottish
Agricultural Science Agency and the Advisory Committee on
Releases to the Environment (ACRE), concluded that
"minuscule amounts of pollen from a GM source did not pose
a risk to consumers."
The letter to the Sunday Times goes on:
"The First Minister made clear to Parliament that the
Scottish Executive treats very seriously any suggestion
that public safety or the environment could be put at risk
by the growing of GM crops on Scottish sites.
"Consequently, we have sought an independent assessment
of the test results produced on behalf of your newspaper in
order that Ministers and the public could fully consider
the implications. In addition to the Food Standards Agency
and the Scottish Agricultural Science Agency, the Scottish
Executive sought the views of the independent Advisory
Committee on Releases to the Environment on the Sunday
Times findings. The advice from all 3 bodies is
attached.
"The advice concludes quite clearly that the results of
the laboratory tests do not raise any issues that were not
considered before the particular GM crop was granted
approval to be grown in Fife. In particular it was noted
that the research undertaken for the Sunday Times did not
quantify the amount of DNA detected in the sample.
"The Executive's scientific advisers have always
recognised that bees and wind could transport tiny
quantities of pollen from the GM plants outwith the test
site. That is why the consequences of such an occurrence
were examined carefully and approval was only granted on
the basis of clear assurances that pollen from this crop
did not pose a safety threat.
"The general public will be particularly reassured to
note the advice from the Food Standards Agency which makes
clear that, on the basis of previous studies, the possible
presence in honey of minuscule amounts of pollen from a GM
source does not pose a risk to consumers. Such advice is
consistent with the information in the Scottish Executive
leaflet circulated in North East Fife this spring which
stated:
One part of a GM plant that does contain genes, which
might inadvertently get into honey in tiny quantities, is
pollen. However, the Government's food experts are
satisfied that even if it was to get into honey, pollen
from approved GM crops does not pose a safety threat to
consumers.
"Understandably, public confidence is affected by
reports such as that which appeared in the Sunday Times.
Ministers have therefore placed a priority on investigating
the issue thoroughly as we recognise that it is important
for the facts of the matter to be known and aired. I hope
that the expert views offered to us will reassure concerned
members of the public that the recent tests do not call
into question existing scientific understanding nor raise
any safety fears that have not been fully considered before
these crop trials were approved. In view of the widespread
interest that this matter has generated, I am arranging for
this letter to be widely distributed so that any public
uncertainty can be dispelled."
The
Food Standards Agency have offered the
following advice:
"The report from Genescan does not include data on the
amount of GM pollen found in the honey sample. We would
expect the level to be very low, based on previous research
funded by the then MAFF which concluded that consumers
would digest no more than 30 picogrammes to 5 nanogrammes
of transgenic protein in every 500g jar of honey. This
represents less than 0.000000001%. In December 1999 the
ACNFP reconsidered the advice it had issued in 1991 on the
presence of GM pollen in honey. It endorsed the advice
given in 1991 and confirmed that it was still content that
the presence of small amounts of pollen did not represent a
risk to consumers. The European Commission has advised that
honey containing trace amounts of pollen from GM crops is
not classified as a novel food and may therefore be
lawfully sold throughout the community. The Commission has
also stated that honey unintentionally containing pollen
transferred by bees from GM crops does not require
labelling under the Novel Foods Regulation (258/97).
"All GM crops intended for deliberate release in the
European Community have to be thoroughly assessed for human
and environmental safety before they are allowed to be
planted. This assessment includes safety implications of
any exposure to pollen through ingestion or inhalation from
the air, or as a result of landing on other crops. There
should not therefore be any safety concerns arising from
the possible inclusion of small amounts of pollen from GM
crops in honey."
The
Scottish Agricultural Science Agency have
offered the following advice:
"SASA has reviewed GeneScan's test results on a honey
sample, reported to have been produced in N.E. Fife, on
behalf of the Sunday Times. The Agency has no grounds for
questioning the reliability of the qualitative tests
conducted by the GM Diagnostic Laboratory at Bremen,
Germany. The results indicate the presence of GM DNA in
pollen extracted from the honey sample and point to pollen
from a variety that contains a male-sterility line as the
likely source of the transgenic material. The tests do not
identify the GM oilseed rape variety that was grown in
N.E.Fife this summer. Although the tests do show that the
extracted DNA from the pollen contains the same
male-sterility genes that are present in this variety.
"Concerns remain over what a single sample represents
and the conditions by which it was taken. However these
questions are beyond the scope of the analytical
laboratory. The SASA GM Inspectorate has also reviewed the
consent for the GM crop that was grown in the area. They
consider that the issue does not raise any regulatory
concerns."
The
Advisory Committee on Releases to the
Environment have commented as follows:
The Sunday Times newspaper commissioned a study to look
for GM DNA presence in a 507 g sample of honey from a
beehive(s) at a site in Fife. A copy of the newspaper
report and a certificate of analysis from the company who
conducted the tests were forwarded to the Scottish
Executive. ACRE was asked to advise on whether the
conclusion drawn from this study altered their safety
assessment of a GM oilseed rape variety that was identified
as being the source of GM DNA presence in the honey.
A DNA fragment derived from a soil bacteria commonly
used in the genetic modification of plants (
ie terminal repeats from the
nopaline synthetase gene of
Agrobacterium tumefaciens) was detected in the
honey. The amplification of a DNA fragment spanning the
junction between a tapetum cell-specific promoter and the
barnase gene (confers male sterility) indicated
that the source of the GM DNA was a SeedLinkä variety of
oilseed rape. The honey has also been tested for the
presence of the
nptII antibiotic resistance gene - this was not
detected. No tests were carried out for other genetic
elements present in SeedLinkä lines, for example for the
barstar (confers restored fertility), and
bar genes (confers tolerance to herbicides
containing glufosinate ammonium). The proximity of the
beehives to a GM spring oilseed rape trial (application
reference: 98/R19/18) does however, support the conclusion
that one source of pollen in the honey could be from
SeedLinkä oilseed rape.
The investigation was carried out on honey from one jar,
however, there is very little information about this sample
including when it was collected. There is no indication of
the concentration of pollen present in the honey. The
detection of DNA fragments was not quantitative.
ACRE has previously considered the possibility of GM
pollen from SeedLinkä oilseed rape plants appearing in
honey and have advised that it poses no additional risk to
either bees or anyone eating the honey than pollen from
conventional oilseed rape varieties. ACRE was asked if this
advice was altered if SeedLinkä oilseed rape pollen was
found to be present in the honey sample from Fife.
ACRE's advice
ACRE is content that its previous advice remains valid -
namely that the presence and expression of transgenes in
the tissues of this variety of SeedLinkä oilseed rape,
including pollen, does not pose an increased risk to human
health or the environment when compared to non-GM oilseed
rape varieties. ACRE has previously considered possible
adverse effects on bees and there is no evidence that this
GM pollen would affect bees any differently to conventional
pollen.
ACRE would require more information on the sampling and
experimental procedures used in order to comment in detail
on the study commissioned by the Sunday Times.