Press Release May 6, 2010

GENETIC ENGINEERING CAUSED A MAJOR DISASTER

New evidence indicates that it was genetic engineering that caused the tryptophan food supplement disaster in the US that killed 37 and permanently disabled 1500 people in a painful chronic disorder that occurred 20 years ago.

This is the conclusion of the international NGO, Physicians and Scientists for Responsible Application of Science and Technology (PSRAST) after reanalysis of the facts in the light of new evidence.

"The biotechnology corporations have maintained that it was caused by some impurity of unexplained origin appearing due to decreased filtering of the tryptophan solution generated through fermentation by genetically engineered bacteria - however this is contradicted by new facts" says Dr Jaan Suurküla, the chairman of PSRAST.

It has been discovered that hundreds fell ill before the filtering was decreased. PSRAST has found, after careful analysis, that no other plausible explanation remains for the appearance of the unexpected poison in the supplement than a metabolic disturbance due to genetic engineering.

For details see http://psrast.org/demsd.htm

"It is only a matter of time before another major accident happens with genetically engineered foods" says Dr Suurkula. The reason, he says, is that the approval procedure of genetically engineered foods is not designed to detect unexpected dangerous substances that can appear in the food due to genetic engineering.

Dr Suurkula concludes: "This is a recipe for disaster - as all genetically engineered foods have been approved on the basis of this unreliable safety evaluation method, all GE foods on the market are unsafe and must be withdrawn, and a ban on GE foods should be implemented".

For details, see "Inadequate safety assessment of GE foods" at
http://psrast.org/subeqow.htm

Physicians and Scientists for Responsible Application of Science and
Technology (PSRAST)
Contact: Dr Jaan Suurküla
email: