City denies kids are GM rice guinea pigs
Source: Xinhua |
September 2, 2012, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
GOVERNMENT officials in central China's Hunan Province yesterday denied claims that children there were being used as guinea pigs in US-backed research on the effects of consuming genetically-modified (GM) rice.
The response was prompted by a Greenpeace article saying that the environmental protection group had discovered a study backed by the US Department of Agriculture involving feeding genetically modified golden rice to a group of 24 children, aged between six and eight, in Hunan.
The study, published in the August edition of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, claimed that golden rice, genetically engineered to be rich in carotene, is effective at providing vitamin A to children.
A spokesman for Hengyang City, where Greenpeace claims the study was conducted, said the government has formed an investigation team. Initial findings indicated that there had been no such research project.
However, the spokesman said there was a study on the transformation of carotene in vegetables to vitamin A in children's bodies. The study, commissioned to its Hunan branch by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2008, selected 68 children in Hengyang's Hengnan County for the experiment.
"The food given to the children did not involve GM rice or other GM food," the spokesman said. "Parents were notified of the experiment in advance."
Hunan CDC officials said that the food used was all locally purchased.
The government spokesman said the study had not involved any American institute.
The response was prompted by a Greenpeace article saying that the environmental protection group had discovered a study backed by the US Department of Agriculture involving feeding genetically modified golden rice to a group of 24 children, aged between six and eight, in Hunan.
The study, published in the August edition of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, claimed that golden rice, genetically engineered to be rich in carotene, is effective at providing vitamin A to children.
A spokesman for Hengyang City, where Greenpeace claims the study was conducted, said the government has formed an investigation team. Initial findings indicated that there had been no such research project.
However, the spokesman said there was a study on the transformation of carotene in vegetables to vitamin A in children's bodies. The study, commissioned to its Hunan branch by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2008, selected 68 children in Hengyang's Hengnan County for the experiment.
"The food given to the children did not involve GM rice or other GM food," the spokesman said. "Parents were notified of the experiment in advance."
Hunan CDC officials said that the food used was all locally purchased.
The government spokesman said the study had not involved any American institute.
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