Journal retracts article that linked GMO food to cancer
A 2011 protest in Nairobi against plans to import GMO foods. Photo/FILE
What you need to know:
The study, whose results were published in the November 2012 edition of the Journal of Food and Chemical Toxicology, linked the formation of cancerous tumours in rats to the genetically modified maize that they were fed on
The Prof Gilles-Eric Seralini led study was part of the reason former Public Health minister Beth Mugo banned the importation of genetically modified food
The withdrawal of the article is expected to re-ignite the GMO debate in Kenya and embolden the protagonists
A global scientific journal has retracted an article that linked genetically modified food to cancer.
The study, whose results were published in the November 2012 edition of the Journal of Food and Chemical Toxicology, linked the formation of cancerous tumours in rats to the genetically modified maize that they were fed on.
The Prof Gilles-Eric Seralini led study was part of the reason former Public Health minister Beth Mugo banned the importation of genetically modified food.
The withdrawal of the article is expected to re-ignite the GMO debate in Kenya and embolden the protagonists.
According to the study, the rats also suffered from severe liver and kidney damage dying faster than those that were fed on a regular diet.
The journal is printed by Elsevier, the same academic publishers of the medical journal The Lancet.
The Journal of Food and Chemical Toxicology said that it had retracted the article titled Long Term Toxicity Of a Roundup Herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant Genetically Modified Maize after analysing it and investigating peer-review of the article.
“Ultimately, the results presented, while not incorrect, are inconclusive and therefore do not reach the threshold of publication for Food and Chemical Toxicology,” the statement said.
Crucial time
Researchers and biotechnology experts have in the past complained that the ban on GMOs had negatively impacted on education, forcing many students to opt out of biotechnology-related courses.
In an interview with the Business Daily, Kennedy Oyugi, a programmes officer at African Biotechnology Stakeholders Forum, said that the withdrawal was positive and should reduce the use of false science to propagate GMO fears.
“It goes a long way to support what we have been saying, that the science used in the study was not to internationally acceptable standards and it is upon policy makers, not just in Kenya but also globally, to reconsider their positions,” he said.
Dr Evans Sikinyi, the chief executive of the Seed Traders Association of Kenya, said that retraction of the article has come at a crucial time when the government has appointed a taskforce to look into the GMO ban.
“GM maize has been approved and imported into the country before, with the low maize production witnessed this year Kenya needs to lift the ban and avert a food crisis,” he said.
Last year, the European Food Safety Authority released a separate review of the study saying that the conclusions drawn cannot be regarded as scientifically sound because of inadequacies in the design, reporting and analysis of the study.
