Health Impact Assessment of GM Crops Shows No Health Hazards

Assessment of the health impact of GM plant diets in long-term and multigenerational animal feeding trials: A literature review published in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology shows that GM plants are nutritionally equivalent to their non-GM counterparts and can be safely used in food and feed.

Snell Chelsea of the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom and colleagues reviewed 24 studies to collect data about the effects of diets containing GM maize, potato, soybean, rice, or triticale on animal health. In general, there were no statistically significant differences within parameters observed. Some small differences were observed although these fell within the normal variation range of the considered parameter and thus had no biological or toxicological significance.

The 90-day OECD Test Guideline was perceived as adequate and sufficient for evaluating health effects of GM plant diets. Harmonizing experimental protocols in fundamental research was recommended to raise the quality of the studies evaluated.

The paper is available at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691511006399