France will push for GM ban if cancer threat confirmed

PARIS (AFP) - France will seek an immediate European Union (EU) ban on imports of a genetically-modified (GM) corn made by Monsanto if a study linking it to cancer in rats is deemed credible, Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Thursday.

EU and French health watchdogs are carrying out an urgent review of a study by scientists at France's University of Caen which found that rats fed on NK603 corn or exposed to the weedkiller used with it developed tumours.

The authors of the study have billed the findings as "extremely worrying," but their methodology and results and their relevance to humans have been questioned by other experts in the field.

"I've demanded a rapid procedure, in the order of a few weeks, which will allow us to establish the scientific validity of this study," Mr Ayrault said.