Brussels, 23/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - It's tit for tat. On Monday 22 October, the day when ANSES (France's Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail) refuted the validity of the Seralini et al study on the long-term toxicity of genetically engineered maize NK603 and the total herbicide RoundUp by Monsanto (see EUROPE 10714), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) announced having given Professor Gilles-Eric Seralini access to all data available on the scientific evaluation of NK603 between 2003 and 2009.
Access to that data which led to the favourable scientific opinion given by EFSA in 2009 was offered to Seralini in response to the written request made by him, which made it a precondition for communication of the additional information requested by EFSA for carrying out a more detailed assessment of French scientific work. In a press release, EFSA states that it reiterated its request. For its own part, it complied with Seralini's wish as part of the usual procedure applicable in such cases, namely the request for access to documents by the public, and for NK603 maize that access was guaranteed on six other occasions, EFSA states. (AN/transl.jl)