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

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (1788)	3/23/1999 9:38:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 2539

03/23 02:23 EU ban on Monsanto hormone likely to continue-WSJ NEW YORK, March 23 (Reuters) - The European Union's five-year ban on the sale of Monsanto Co.'s <MTC.N> synthetic cow hormone is likely to continue because a government-appointed scientific panel is raising human health concerns dismissed by other governments, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. The moratorium on the company's genetically engineered bovine somatotropin that aims to increase a cow's milk output by as much as 15 percent was scheduled to expire on Dec. 31. An EU panel issued a report Monday that requested more study into whether cows treated with bovine somatotropin also produced an insulin-like growth factor in their milk in such quantities that drinking it raised the risk of cancer in humans. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the growth hormone for injection into U.S. dairy cows six years ago. Recently, an independent panel of Canadian scientists also concluded that there was no evidence that consuming insulin-like growth factor caused cancer. An EU spokesperson told the newspaper that government officials were unlikely to end the ban on the product as long as questions were raised about its safety. Monsanto told the newspaper it would contest the conclusions of the EU committee report. Its stock slipped 1-3/16 to 47-7/16 Monday on the New York Stock Exchange.

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (1788)	3/23/1999 9:49:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2539

03/23 06:05 EU says U.S. hormone for cows may be risk to humans BRUSSELS, March 23 (Reuters) - A European Commission official on Tuesday said a European Union scientific committee had found evidence which suggested that a hormone which boosts milk production in dairy cows may pose a risk to human health. The use and marketing of the hormone - called bovine somatotrophin (BST) - is already prohibited in the 15-nation bloc, although the five-year ban was set to expire at the end of this year, Commission spokesman Pietro Petrucci told Reuters. EU officials on Tuesday said the Commission would probably extend the present moratorium or impose a brand new ban. The hormone is produced by Monsanto Co. <MTC.N> of the United States and is designed to boost a cow's milk output by as much as 15 percent. The U.S. government cleared the growth hormone for use on dairy cows some six years ago. But EU scientists have come to the conclusion that BST increases the quantity of "Insuline Growth Factor 1" (IGF-I) in milk which recent studies have indicated "is associated with an increased relative risk of breast and prostate cancer," the Commission said in a statement released on Monday. "Further research to specify the role of IGF-1 in cancer development is needed," it said. Potential secondary risks were also attached to the use of BST such as "an increase in allergic reactions and an increased use of antimicrobial substances," the Commission said. EU scientists who have already advised against using the hormone on animal welfare grounds have drawn up a report into the possible link between the use of BST and cancer that will shortly be available on the Internet, it said. But last week's shock resignation of the European Commission means the present caretaker commission will not treat the matter as urgent business and will probably leave a decision to its successor, Petrucci said.