London (1.2.09) – Some weeks ago we noted the publication, non-peer-reviewed, of a paper from Vienna purporting to show that mouse parents fed on a diet of GM-maize variety suffered a decrease in litter size and weight by the time they gave birth to their third and fourth litters while parents fed a “closely-related” non-GM maize did not (1).

In our posting we observed that the report had not been peer-reviewed and that a number of problem points were immediately obvious. We wrote that we awaited with interest a review by experts.

One such review is now forthcoming: by Professor Klaus Ammann working at the Technical University of Delft in The Netherlands. In two brief papers as yet unpublished (2, 3) he comments on a number of aspects of the Austrian study. Professor Ammann concludes that the study which was prematurely published as a report by the Austrian government does not stand up to the review by peer experts – and gives his reasons why. With his permission, we provide links below from which his papers may be downloaded.

Readers will, of course, notice that Professor Ammann’s remarks have themselves not been peer-reviewed, just like the Austrian report on which it comments. So for the moment one must make one’s own judgements both about the validity of the original report from Vienna and this new analysis of the methods and data. We hope to post further information if an when it becomes available.

Sources:

1. Here we go again? Or, this time, will it be different (12.11.08). CropGen (http://www.cropgen.org/article_203.html)

2. Ammann, N. (15.1.09). Background of Austrian mice study debate (http://www.cropgen.org/Ammann_comments_(1).pdf)

3. Ammann, N. (15.12.08). The Austrian experiment with mice fed with a hybrid GM maize from Monsanto (http://www.cropgen.org/Ammann_comments_(2).pdf)

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