Illegal GE papaya in Thailand has antibiotic resistant genes

Samples of seeds sold by the DOA’s research station in Khon Kaen tested positive for tetracycline resistance. Tetracycline is a broad-spectrum antibiotic used to treat infections.

Section 58 of the FAO/WHO Codex specifically says: “Antibiotic resistant genes used in food production that encode resistance to clinically used antibiotics should not be present in foods (1).”

“The illegal GE papaya is now proven to be a risk to the Thai people who love to eat papaya. The DOA must reveal every information they have on the GE papaya, especially on their safety assessment. There is a real danger that people may develop resistance to antibiotics through GE contaminated papaya,” said Patwajee Srisuwan of Greenpeace.

The European Food Safety Authority has categorized antibiotic marker genes into 3 classes according to their medical importance. Tetracyclin falls in class three which the authority says must be avoided. It states: “Irrespective of considerations about the realistic importance of the health threat, these genes should be avoided in the genome of transgenic plants to ensure the highest standard of preventive health care. Therefore these antibiotic resistance marker genes should not be present in GM plants placed on the market or in plants used for experimental field trials (2).”

In addition to health risks, the presence of antibiotics resistant genes in the Thai GE papaya can have negative impacts to Thai exports into the European Union. The EU strictly enforces a legislation which states: “Member States and the Commission shall ensure that GMOs which contain genes expressing resistance to antibiotics in use for medical or veterinary treatment are taken into particular consideration when carrying out an environmental risk assessment, with a view to identifying and phasing out antibiotic resistance markers in GMOs which may have adverse effects on human health and the environment (3).”

Earlier this year, Dr Michael Hansen, an American biologist who works at the Consumers Union of the United States warned about health risks due to the possible presence of antibiotic resistance in GE papaya. He stated that in the case of Hawaii, three antibiotic resistant genes were found in two types of GE papaya that is being cultivated. Since the DOA used nearly the same method when they developed the GE papaya here, there is very high probability of tetracycline resistance in the Thai GE papaya, he added.

The DOA, however, keeps misleading the public, saying they just finished the safety assessment on the illegal GE papaya in Thailand and found it safe for human health and environment. The safety assessment cited by the DOA has never been revealed to the public or reviewed by independent scientists.

“The presence of tetracycline resistance genes is against international standards and puts consumers at risk. Consumers do not know if they are already eating GE papaya and do not have information about this.

The DOA is hiding information regarding their research, experiments and safety assessment of GE papaya, which is violating the public’s right to know and right to say no to GMOs,” said Sairung Thongploon of the Confederation of Consumer Organization of Thailand.

Greenpeace and the Confederation of Consumer Organization of Thailand demand that the DOA disclose all information on GE papaya and immediately decontaminate fields and farms found to be contaminated by GMOs.