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Biotech / Medical : Monsanto Co. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (1712)	3/18/1999 7:22:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 2539

Monsanto Dairy Hormone May Be Carcinogenic -EU Vet Committee LONDON (Dow Jones)--Milk from cows treated with a synthetic hormone produced by U.S.-based firms Monsanto Corp. (MTC) and Eli-Lily & Co. (LLY) may cause cancer, a key European Union veterinary committee has said. Use of the hormone in dairy cows could also foster resistance to antibiotics and induce allergic reactions in humans, according to the E.U. Scientific Committee on Veterinary Measures Relating to Public Health. The doubt cast upon the safety of synthetic bovine somatotropin (BST) by the E.U.-appointed scientists could mean the E.U. Commission will not lift the ban on sale of the product later this year. The ban on synthetic BST was imposed by the E.U. Commission some years ago due to similar health concerns. The E.U. scientists made their statement in a summary of a report obtained by Dow Jones Newswires Thursday. The full report is due to be published within the next few days. The E.U. Commission will debate the report and use it as a basis for its decision on whether to renew the E.U. ban on synthetic BST. The deadline for renewal of the ban is Dec. 31, 1999. Synthetic BST, which stimulates milk production in dairy cows, is produced by inserting genes from cows into microscopic organisms, which then reproduce the hormone. It is widely used in U.S. dairy herds. Injection of the synthetic hormone into cows could mean consumers are exposed to "an increased relative risk of breast and prostate cancer" it was stated in the summary report. The E.U. scientists said also that the increased use of antibiotics in cows treated with synthetic BST could lead to those antibiotics finding their way into milk and could foster the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. As the use of synthetic BST increases the risk of cows developing mastitis, a disease which causes the deterioration of cows' udders, cows treated with the hormone are typically given extra doses of antibiotics. An E.U. Commission agriculture official declined to comment on what impact the report could have on E.U. policy but he did say the summary of the report was 'vague' in its conclusions. -By Daniel Balint-Kurti 44-171-832-9561; daniel.balint-kurti@cor.dowjones.com (END) DOW JONES NEWS 03-18-99 12:05 PM

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (1712)	3/18/1999 7:23:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2539

Monsanto Issues Statement Rejecting E.U. Warning On Hormone NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Monsanto Co. (MTC) issued the following statement in response to an earlier report on Dow Jones Newswires that a European Union veterinary committee had stated that the hormone Bovine Somatotropin (BST) may be tied to cancer and other health problems: 'In January 1999, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reaffirmed that milk, meat and dairy products from BST-supplemented cows are safe for humans. The European Union's Committee on Veterinary Medicinal Products (February 1993), the World Health Organization's Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (February 1998), Health Canada (January 1999), and regulatory agencies in a number of countries have all concluded that BST is safe for people and animals. 'Concerns raised about carcinogenic effects with this product have also been thoroughly studied and dismissed (over the past decade) by the same regulatory bodies as well as the American Cancer Society and the U.S. National Institutes of Health. 'Additionally, a moratorium on BST use imposed by the E.U. Commission some years ago (as noted in the Dow Jones story) was based on economic and political considerations and not on factors related to animal or human safety.' (END) DOW JONES NEWS 03-18-99 05:07 PM