Study Claims Bt Toxin Found in Human Blood
Canadian researchers have allegedly detected the presence of Cry1Ab toxin
in human blood, raising questions about whether “pesticides associated
to genetically modified [GM] foods (PAGMF)” break down during digestion
as previously claimed. Aziz Aris and Samuel Leblanc, “Maternal and fetal
exposure to pesticides associated to genetically modified foods in Eastern
Townships of Quebec, Canada,” Reproductive Toxicology, 2011. The study
apparently focused on 30 pregnant and 39 non-pregnant women with no
direct or indirect contact with pesticides. The findings evidently showed
Cry1Ab toxin—“an insecticidal protein produced by the naturally occurring
soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis [bt]” and used in GM maize—“in 93% and
80% of maternal and fetal blood samples, respectively and in 69% of tested
blood samples from non-pregnant women.”
According to the study’s authors, these results suggest “(1) that these toxins
may not be effectively eliminated in humans and (2) there may be a high risk
of exposure through consumption of contaminated meat,” since Cry1Ab has
also been discovered “in the gastrointestinal contents of livestock fed on GM corn.” Moreover, as the authors speculated, “given the widespread use of GM foods in the local daily diet (soybeans, corn, potatoes . . .) it is conceivable that the majority of the population is exposed through their daily diet.” They have therefore offered their research as a baseline for further nutrition, toxicology and reproductive studies, “particularly those using the placental transfer approach.” See India Today, May 11, 2011.
