Brussels, 23/08/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission will make available its scientific assessments on genetically modified organisms to Health ministers from Southern African countries and senior officials from the World Health Organisation next Monday in Harare, Zimbabwe, to discuss responses to the famine in the region, including the refusal by some famine-hit countries to accept genetically modified food (GM maize) which has been offered by the US as food aid. The Cartagena protocol of the Biodiversity Convention, signed by 111 countries, gives countries the right to carry out a scientific risk assessment prior to accepting import of GMOs. The Commission believes there is no reason to believe that GM food is inherently unsafe to human health. It points out that seven genetically modified maize varieties used in processed foods have undergone scientific risk assessment in the EU and concluded to be as safe for human food use as their conventional counterparts. The European Commission is responding to the humanitarian crisis with almost €150 million. Equivalent to around 300 000 tonnes of maize, it is Commission policy to buy as much corn as possible from markets in the region