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Tufts researcher ‘broke rules’ in GM rice study
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Tufts University has acknowledged that one of its researchers broke ethical rules while conducting a study on genetically modified “Golden Rice” in central China’s Hunan Province.
The Massachusetts-based institution said it “regrets” the study’s deviations from certain protocols.
Its statement came a year after a study co-authored by Tufts-affiliated researchers was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The study sparked controversy in China over the ethics of using children to determine the nutritional value of the rice, and led to the sacking of three Chinese officials.
“While the study data were validated and no health or safety concerns were identified, the research itself was found not to have been conducted in full appliance with IRB (Institution Review board) policy or federal regulations,” Tufts said in its statement.
Tufts also said researchers had cut corners obtaining reviews and approvals in China. And they also failed to explain adequately the genetically-modified nature of Golden Rice to relevant parties.
Environmental group Greenpeace said researchers fed the rice to 25 children between six and eight in Hunan. The rice was modified to be rich in beta carotenen and the test was intended to explore ways of preventing Vitamin A deficiency among children.
According to an earlier statement from the university, Guangwen Tang, director of the university’s Carotenoids and Health Laboratory, cooked the rice in the United States and brought it to China on May 29, 2008, without due declaration to relevant Chinese authorities. Four days later, Tang and other research participants recooked the rice, mixing it with ordinary rice, and served it for the children’s lunch.
Prior to the test, the research team held a meeting to brief parents and guardians, but they were not told GM food was being used.
The officials who approved the test were sacked after an investigation ordered by the Ministry of Health.
“We regret that deviations from certain approved protocols and standards occurred,” said Tufts. The primary investigator will be banned from conducting research on humans for two years, it said.
In online discussions, Chinese web users were divided on the safety of genetically modified products. But most comments condemned the way the test was conducted.
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