<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
Hi List,
Please feel free to pass this on to anyone (or any organization) who is
interested in bioengineered wheat gluten introduction into other foods,
such as corn.
Email your questions to Gluten Biotech Watch: Marshall Chrostowski,
[log in to unmask]
Mardena Waller
___________________________________________________________________________
Codex Alimentarius Commission is a United Nations body charged with the
development of international standards for food safety and consumer
protection, worldwide...INCLUDING what will be in foods in THE UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA:
http://www.fao.org/es/ESN/gm/allergygm.pdf p 5-7, CELIACS EXCLUDED!
See p 20 for list of participants (3 from the United States, 28 total
members).
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO CELIACS?
This MEANS that genetically modified corn (and other products) CAN include
wheat protein. It was reported that not one complaint in support of
celiacs has been received!
Until the final Codex is submitted to nations for inclusion in local
legislation, there is always a chance to add celiac considerations.
If Celiacs and Celiac organizations don't demand consideration of celiac
concerns (and anyone avoiding gluten, such as autistics), celiac disease
will be overlooked...ignored, and bioengineered wheat gluten will march
forward.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
World moving to set standards for GM foods, U.N. agency says Deutsche
Presse-Agentur (dpa) April 02, 2001
Rome (dpa) -Significant progress is being made in setting international
standards regulating the sale of foods derived from biotechnology, the
United Nations said in a statement published in Rome Monday.
According to a special task force of the Food and Agriculture
Organisation and the World Health Organisation, near consensus has been
reached on draft text legislating on the health concerns of genetically
modified foodstuffs.
The task force brings together officials from 35 countries and
representatives of 24 non-governmental organisations, including Consumers
International, industry groups and Greenpeace. The commission is managed
by Codex Alimentarius, a UN body charged with the development of
international standards for food safety and consumer protection.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission set up the ad hoc task force, which
was hosted by Japan, in 1999.
The task force's deadline has been set for July 2003, after which Codex
Alimentarius's 165 member countries would be asked to include the text
into their national legislation.
dpa Copyright 2001 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
---------------- Begin Forwarded Message ----------------
From: clare mills (IFR) [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2001 9:52 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Dear Marshall,
Your enquiry regarding concerns of coeliacs regarding the potential for
gluten proteins to become incorporated into other plant food species through
genetic manipulation. I think many companies are aware of the potential
problems that might be encountered regarding inclusion of allergenic proteins
in GMO food crops and it is one of the main stop/go decisions in a safety
evaluation scheme used in the assessment of the allergenic potential of novel
foods. So I think it most regulators would take the view that such a GMO
would be unacceptable. Nevertheless I appreciate your concerns. There has
been a document published by WHO on this matter at
http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAOINFO/ECONOMIC/ESN/gm/biotec-e.htm
It has some good documentation and really gives a comprehensive view on these
matters.I hope this is of use - if need more information please do not
hesitate to contact me,
Best wishes
Clare
Dr Clare Mills,
Institute of Food Research,
Norwich Research Park,
Colney,
Norwich,
NR4 7UA
UK
Tel: 44-1603-255000
Fax:44-1603-255000
___________________________________________________________________________
Date: 2001.04.25 17:26
From: Marshall Chrostowski, [log in to unmask]
To: clare mills (IFR), [log in to unmask]
CC: Mardena Waller, [log in to unmask]
Dear Clare,
Many thanks for your thoughtful response. We are aware of the WHO/FAO/Codex
materials and were pleased to find thorough recognition of coeliac problems
and proposed language for labeling food containing wheat glutens.
I have studied the FAO/WHO/ Joint Consultations on Foods Derived from
Biotechnology and documents from several task forces. There are some
disturbing inconsistencies in language among these documents (likely to be
clarified by the 2003 deadline.) Even more disturbing is the expressed
_exclusion_ of rDNA wheat gluten from allergenicity testing protocols.
See p. 4 of http://www.fao.org/es/ESN/gm/allergygm.pdf
In truth this body of experts will not recommend testing for recombinant
gluten genes in food normally free of wheat glutens. We are concerned. I am
not a trained geneticist so need a bit of guidance here. We believe this
decision is potentially a threat to those with allergies and immunological
challenges to wheat and especially glutens.
We still have not been successful in tracking down on-going research into
altering the wheat genome to inactivate the gluten proteins or intercede at
the peptide-T cell interface. But hope springs eternal!
Thank you again and best wishes,
Marshall Chrostowski
(for the Gluten Biotech Watch)
Pacifica Graduate Institute
249 Lambert Road
Carpinteria, CA 93013 USA
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