Biotech blunder results in GM trial chaos

15 August 2002

Friends of the Earth wants an immediate halt to the outdoor testing of GM crops following the revelation today that the Aventis GM oilseed rape used in the controversial farmscale trials was contaminated with another GM variety.

With the last of the farm scale trials due to be planted next week, Friends of the Earth supports the call from the Government's advisors, ACRE (Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment) for a delay. Before planting the Government must:

• Carry out a full investigation and put measures in place to ensure it does not happen again
• Guarantee that winter oilseed rape seeds are not contaminated - all testing results should be published
• Fully review its GM inspectorate.

"This is yet another biotech blunder from the GM industry. How can we trust them to produce our food if they cannot even run a GM test site. This is the latest in a number of GM incidents involving Aventis. It is clear that they are incompetent and should not be allowed to experiment with our countryside or our food any more," said Friends of the Earth GM Campaigner Adrian Bebb. "The Government must listen to its own advisors and pull the plug on the proposed winter trials until they know how this contamination took place. It beggars belief that their own Inspectorate visited Aventis in April but did not uncover this contamination. If Aventis has breached its consent then the Government should use the full force of the law."

Friends of the Earth research in 1999 found pollen from this GM oilseed rape in shop-bought honey and in beehives near a farm scale trial. Laboratory studies on this additional gene have shown that it can be picked up and used by bacteria. Contrary to the Government's comments, this antibiotic resistance gene can also provide resistance to the important antibiotic gentamycin - used for life threatening illnesses such as meningitis.

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