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Parents still worry about impact of GM rice
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Parents of students in central China who took part in a joint China-US test of genetically modified rice said they still worry about possible negative impacts of the food on their children despite an apology from the American side.
Tufts University said in an e-mail to Xinhua on Wednesday that it apologized for the “Golden Rice” test on students in a township in Hengnan County, Hunan Province. The test was conducted by its research team and led by Tang Guangwen.
The rice was genetically modified to be rich in beta carotene and was intended to explore ways to prevent Vitamin A deficiency among children.
The university said the test failed to comply with rules set by its ethics review committee and US federal regulations even though no health and safety risks have been detected among the participating children.
A father of one of the 25 children in the test, who declined to be named, said he did not accept the apology as it could not completely dispel his worries about the future.
His child, who is now in junior high school, has not shown any abnormalities in wake of the GM test, he said.
“So far my child is fine, but there is no guarantee he will be OK in the future,” he said.
Last August, the parents panicked once learning their children had been fed GM rice.
“An apology is not the key issue,” said another parent, who also declined to be named. “If my child shows abnormalities in the future, I will surely sue them (the university).”
Since learning about the GM experiment, he said his child has had a bad temper and poor school results.
He, along with other parents, said they hoped Tufts University would provide scientific evidence that the GM food would not harm their children over the long term.
Families of the 25 children earlier received 80,000 yuan (US$13,000) each in compensation from local authorities.
Greenpeace first disclosed the test in August 2012, saying researchers fed “Golden Rice” to 25 children aged between six and eight in Hunan. The exposure triggered a backlash.
Greenpeace discovered the test from a paper published in the August edition of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. It claimed that “Golden Rice” is effective in providing Vitamin A to children.
The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention found Tang, together with researchers from the China CDC and Zhejiang Academy of Medical Sciences, conducted the test without informing parents.
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