Celiac Disease Foundation, plant geneticist, challenge another GMO-scare by Jeffrey Smith, linking GMOs to celiac disease, gluten sensitivity

Previous GMO scares by Jeffrey Smith include 65 myths propagated in his self-published book Genetic Roulette.  These are fully dissected at Academics Review website.

The latest  GMO scare from Jeff Smith:

Celiac Disease Foundation, plant geneticist, challenge report linking GMOs to celiac disease, gluten sensitivity

By Maggie Hennessy, 03-Dec-2013

A controversial  new report  alleging that genetically engineered foods could be an environmental trigger for gluten sensitivity and celiac disease has been challenged by the Celiac Disease Foundation and a leading plant geneticist...

More @ Celiac Disease Foundation, plant geneticist, challenge report linking GMOs to celiac disease, gluten sensitivity:

The gluten sensitivity claims come from prominent anti-GMO campaigner Jeffrey Smith and his "Institute for Responsible Technology". They are based on Smiths speculations about two toxins, the herbicide glyphosate and insect protection protein Bt present in several biotech crops.

The levels of glyphosate exposure postulated by Smith are highly unrealistic according to Wayne Parrott.

IRT's report claims that glyphosate is known to kill beneficial gut bacteria, but not pathogenic varieties such as E. coli, Salmonella, and botulism germs.
Dr. WayneParrott , U Georgia, said the amount of glyphosate required to alter gut bacteria as claimed by Smith would be at "a level thousands of time higher than will eventually end up as residues in the food supply. The levels Smith cites are not 'minimal' by any measure," he said.
"Smith goes on to cite a study claiming that glyphosate alters retinoic acid metabolism. According to the study cited, glyphosate does indeed alter retinoic acid metabolism, if the stuff gets injected straight into an embryo. The mode of exposure is so unrealistic that table salt, aspirin or just about anything could probably give similar results. Last but not least, the description by Smith of 'GMOs soaked with glyphosate' is a blatant distortion of the facts," he added.
As far as the effects of Bt protein on human guts mooted by Smith,  by Dr. Parrot points out that toxicity symptoms only show up if one adds pure Bt protein to naked cells in a culture dish, according to the study cited by Smith. "Aside from the fact that just about any protein would be expected to have the same effect, given the exposure is very unrealistic to anything that could happen in real life, the study never showed the effect observed was due to punctured cells."
Presence of Bt in diets is limited to corn chips, tortillas, and corn products, which collectively do not constitute a major dietary item.
 "Smith claims the Bt protein is found in the blood of pregnant women and their fetuses", said Dr Parrott. "These claims were made by a deeply flawed study that tested blood using a test NOT designed for blood (and which subsequently counts some blood proteins as Bt proteins) and which nevertheless found levels lower than the test is able to find."

See related posts and articles off site for an expose of the earlier myths recycled in this latest IRT rehash:

• False claims that GM protein Bt is present in mothers' blood and foetus tissues are based on incompetent chemical analysis
• An inconvenient truth being ignored by GM wheat protesters Take the Flour Back
• The Science of Things that Are'nt So
• Cells in a Petri dish are not people, and experiments with cells can easily give the wrong answers