Subject: It just doesn't make sense....(guru)
Date: Sun, 24 Sep 2000 230059 -0500
From: Roy Beavers
To: roy@emfguru.com
--------------------------------------------------
..........From EMF-L........
The story below is about the "diligent" food-police agency of the U.S.
Government, the Food and Drug Administration...... The very same
agency that is treating the cell phone hazards with such indifference
(or disdain!!??)......It just doesn't make any sense.......guru....
[.....Unless you factor in the $$$$$$ from the telecom industry to the
Clinton/Gore campaigns.......??????.......]
Roy Beavers wrote:
>
> http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20000922/sc/biotech_corn_7.html
> --
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> [Yahoo! News] - News Alerts - Help [Associated Press]
> ----------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
> Science News - updated 7:34 PM ET Sep 22
> Reuters | SPACE.com | AP
> Friday September 22 7:34 PM ET
> Kraft Foods Recalls Taco Shells
>
> By PHILIP BRASHER, AP Farm Writer
> Kraft Foods on Friday recalled all taco PEP
> shells sold nationwide in supermarkets under the Taco Bell
> brand after tests confirmed they were made with
> genetically engineered corn that isn't approved for human
> consumption.
> The corn, one of the least grown of several biotech
> varieties, is approved for use only in animal feed because
> of questions about whether it could cause allergic
> reactions in people.
>
> Tests commissioned by an anti-biotech environmental group
> found traces of the corn in taco shells that had been
> purchased in a Washington suburb, and tests performed for
> Kraft at an independent lab showed the corn in
> ``multiple'' samples of the product, the company said.
>
> The recall does not apply to shells sold through Taco Bell
> restaurants, but Taco Bell Corp. said it will replace its
> shells next week. The company said it buys shells through
> the same Mexican processor that supplies Kraft, and tests
> for the corn have proven inconclusive. Taco Bell ordered
> the plant to switch suppliers for its corn flour.
>
> The Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) said
> there was no known threat to human health from the corn.
>
> Kraft, a division of Philip Morris Inc., said it would
> discontinue production of the shells until it can be sure
> there is no more of the genetically engineered corn in the
> meal it buys.
>
> Kraft did not know how many packages were in homes, stores
> or in distribution channels, but a spokesman said it was
> safe to say the number is in the millions.
>
> ``As soon as we learned that there might be an issue in
> the supply chain we purchased from, we have been guided by
> one priority, the safety of our products and their
> compliance with all regulatory requirements,'' said Betsy
> Holden, Kraft's chief executive.
>
> The nationwide recall includes packages labeled Taco Bell
> Home Originals 12 Taco Shells, Taco Bell Home Originals 18
> Taco Shells and Taco Bell Home Originals Taco Dinner (12
> shells, sauce and seasoning).
>
> The corn, which contains a bacterium gene that makes it
> toxic to an insect pest, is produced by Aventis Corp. and
> goes under the trade name StarLink.
>
> Kraft said the government should not allow farmers to grow
> a biotech crop that isn't approved for human consumption.
> The taco shells were made for Kraft in Mexico by Sabritas
> Mexicali, a unit of PepsiCo Inc., with meal processed by
> Dallas-based Azteca Milling at a plant in Plainview,
> Texas.
>
> ``All of us - government, industry and the scientific
> community - need to work on ways to prevent this kind of
> situation from ever happening again,'' Holden said.
>
> The taco shells were among 23 corn products that
> representatives of the Friends of the Earth (news - web
> sites) submitted to Iowa-based Genetic ID Inc. for testing
> for the Cry9C protein.
>
> The Kraft recall was a setback to the biotechnology
> industry, which has been battling critics who claim the
> crops are a threat to human health and the environment. In
> Britain, the crops have been denounced as ``Frankenfood,''
> but criticism in the United States has been muted. In the
> United States, companies have been spending millions of
> dollars on a pro-biotech advertising campaign.
>
> ``It is unclear how this occurred, but we must find out,''
> said Carl Feldbaum, president of the Biotechnology
> Industry Organization.
>
> The recall ``demonstrates that consumers are not being
> protected by the federal agencies assigned this critical
> responsibility,'' said Rebecca Goldburg, senior scientist
> at Environmental Defense.
>
> Government regulators insist the crops are safe, and the
> Environmental Protection Agency released a study earlier
> this week saying none of the insect-resistant crops have
> been developed so far pose any significant risks. But
> scientists advising EPA, which regulates pest-resistant
> crops, have been unable to agree whether StarLink is
> allergenic.
>
> FDA officials called the recall a ``prudent step'' and
> said it was continuing an investigation to determine how
> the corn got into the taco shells. Earlier this year, the
> agency proposed a series of steps for increasing
> government scrutiny of biotech food, including requiring
> mandatory safety reviews of new products. More...
>
> ``We're very confident about the process that's in place
> in terms of ensuring the safety of the public,'' said
> James Maryanski, FDA's biotechnology coordinator.
>
> Kraft's action comes on the heels of
> Bridgestone/Firestone's massive recall of tires on Ford
> Explorers and other light trucks.
>
> Consumers should return the taco shells to the store where
> they were bought for full refunds, Kraft said.
>
> The StarLink corn was grown on about 300,000 acres this
> year nationwide, or about 0.4 percent of the total U.S.
> corn acreage.
>
> -
>
> On the Net: Kraft: http://www.kraft.com
>
> On the Net: EPA: http://www.epa.gov
>
> Food and Drug Administration: http://www.fda.gov
>
--
Roy Beavers (EMFguru)
roy@emfguru.com
It is better to light a single candle
than to curse the darkness.....
WEBSITE: http://emfguru.com
People are more important than profit$$
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Reprinted with permission of Roy Beavers, http://www.emfguru.com