[20190515 Press release] Food an cannot afford to give way and firmly opposes the increase of the residual allowance of gabion plug.

Share

[20190515 Press release] Food an cannot afford to give way and firmly opposes the increase of the residual allowance of gabion plug.

In response to the application of Hong Kong Merchant Monsanto far East Co., Ltd., on 23 April, FDA announced the increase in the allowable levels of carapace residues in oats, barley, Duran wheat, rye, sorghum, millet, rapeseed, quinoa, and buckwheat from no more than 10 ppm. We think that this is an unwarranted liberalization. For the sake of the health of consumers, especially children, we call on all sectors of the community to take action and ask the Food and Drug Administration to stop at the brink of the precipice.

The Food and Drug Administration said that this addition will only increase from 7.9% ADI (allowable daily intake) to 12.6% ADI, well below the general safety limit of 80% ADI. Both the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) believe that the chance of causing cancer in humans through diet is very low. Monsanto was found guilty in both cases of carcinogenesis caused by Gypsy in the United States, which is a judicial trial, not the result of a scientific assessment. Therefore, there is no health risk to increase the residual allowance of caramelin in the above-mentioned miscellaneous grains.

However, there are several mistakes in the consideration of the FDA. Our responses and views are as follows:.

First, the European Food Safety Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States have provided evidence to show that it is due to the intervention of manufacturers in the health risk assessment of Jiaposai.

The assessment documents relied on by the European authorities have been pointed out to have copied a number of reports submitted by Monsanto, and its conclusions are clearly not credible. Moreover, the evaluation reference materials used by the department are mainly reports provided by manufacturers and not officially published, and there are not many independent studies published in journal papers, so their conclusions are biased.

As for the EPA's long history of escorting Monsanto, including ignoring the Monsanto report in 1983, which caused renal tubule adenoma in mice, and the record of communication between senior officials and Monsanto, and so on. The latest 250-page report released by the United States Poison and Disease Registry last month further supports the argument that Gaposet may cause cancer.

Second, the Food and Drug Administration believes that "the court jury found Monsanto guilty and there is no scientific basis" is a wrong view.

During the court trial, both the plaintiff and the defendant will present experimental evidence to defend their position, and some scientists will appear in court as expert witnesses to explain the scientific evidence, which will finally be determined by the jury. It is unfair to find that the court's decision has no scientific basis.

Apart from the two factors related to human health, the allowance for pesticide residues set by the Food and Drug Administration (ADI) and the average national intake per crop, will also take into account the needs of agricultural production and grain importers. These other factors have nothing to do with the health of consumers. For example, Chinese consumers set the low intake of edamame beans at 0.2 ppm, while the soybeans they eat every day are set at 10 ppm. This is obviously a convenient way to import GM soybeans with high residues of caramel from America, rather than a consumer health consideration.

Third, the tolerance of pesticide residues is considered to be an acute health risk, and the endocrine disruption effect at lower concentrations is not taken into account.

Long-term intake of endocrine interferon indirectly affects the nervous system, reproductive system and other chronic diseases, and its effects may also be passed on to future generations.

According to the 2016 report of the European Commission, Gaposet has been listed as a secondary endocrine interferon. The first level has identified its effect and understood its mechanism of action, while the second level has also determined that it has an effect, although its mechanism of action is not yet clear. From the perspective of early warning principle, the micronutrient intake of Gaposet also needs to be careful.

Fourth, Monsanto has long concealed the toxicity of gargarizide.

Since Monsanto began to sell the herbicide in 1974, it has been deceiving through advertisements that the herbicide is not toxic to animals and is easy to decompose in the soil, causing countries around the world to take the herbicide lightly. It was only in recent years that academic circles gradually paid attention to its risk, and the research reports on the health risks of Jiaplun plug were published one after another. Of the academic papers published in the past two years alone, at least 13 have pointed out that Garrette does pose a health risk:

As far as animals are concerned, the paper points out that Jiaposai can affect the development and endocrine of rats during embryonic and postpartum growth. And its influence may also occur in the second and third generation. The possible effect of Jiaposai is to change the bacterial phase of the intestine, that is, the number of good bacteria is reduced and the coliform bacteria is not changed. Jiaposai can change the neurological behavior of mice, probably through the change of intestinal flora.

For humans, through epidemiological studies in the United States, it has been found that patients with Parkinson's disease who are easily exposed to the herbicide are more likely to die before the age of 75 than those who do not use the herbicide. Exposure to Jiaposi may lead to children suffering from autistic disorders and mental decline. In laboratory studies, it was also found that at a low concentration of 5% of the daily intake, Jiaposai had genotoxicity to human lymphocytes, and the rate of chromosome mutation and micronucleus cells increased significantly.

Fifth, this addition is unnecessary.

The Food and Drug Administration inspected imported miscellaneous cereals from 2014 to 2018. 100% of buckwheat and barley were detected at zero, while most of them were oat products, with a zero detection rate as high as 84%, and only 16% contained caramel. among them, 2016 oats, 5 batches of oats and 11 batches of mixed oats were the most.

As soon as the news came out in 2016, it immediately triggered a consumer backlash, and when it was tested again in 2017, there was only one batch of Jia phosphorus plug left. It is obvious that the release of the sampling report has successfully alerted importers to the quality of imported products and allayed the worries of consumers. Since the importer has the ability to achieve zero check-out, it is indicated that this addition is an unnecessary operation at all.

In view of the fact that most of China's miscellaneous cereals rely on imports, Duran wheat, which is the raw material of spaghetti, and the consumption of oatmeal for breakfast are quite high, and the evidence shows that caramel will interfere with endocrine, so the less the total food intake of the human body, the better. maintaining zero detection of miscellaneous grains has little impact on importers, so we call on the Food and Drug Administration and the Council of Agriculture to cancel this addition of caramel. Apart from taking care of the health of children and ordinary consumers, it can also encourage local farmers to produce high-quality miscellaneous grains, implement the policy of the Council of Agriculture on the restoration of miscellaneous grains, and the intention of the Legislative Yuan to pass a law on the promotion of organic agriculture.

Therefore, we strongly urge the Food and Drug Administration to respond to the following requests as soon as possible:

I. call on the Food and Drug Administration to rescind the notice of amending the law on the addition of the residue standard of carapamel.

Second, open the consultation Council to evaluate and update the standard of tolerance for pesticide residues in Jialinsai.

Third, the government should not open the door for imported miscellaneous grains with residual Jiaplun plug.

Organizer: Taiwan non-basic Reform Promotion Alliance (Taiwan Housewives Union living consumption Cooperative, Housewives Union Environmental Protection Foundation, Green Front Association, NTU opinion Subnet Professor Guo Huaren, Campus lunch non-basic team)

Press contact: Chen Renhe, CEO of the Housewives Union Environmental Protection Foundation (0933-201508)

Zhang Yuling, Executive Director of the Housewives' Union Environmental Protection Foundation (0921-890916)