From: Rick Crotta [rcrotta@hotmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, March 24, 2001 9:08 AM
To: fdadockets@oc.fda.gov
Subject: Genetically Engineered Foods

Dear FDA:
 
As an American citizen, I strongly request that you strictly regulate Genetically Engineered foods!   All precautions should be taken with these potentially dangerous foods.  I recommend the following rules to be strictly enforced:
 
* The FDA must require mandatory pre-market comprehensive 
  environmental review. Unlike conventional pollutants, 
  where a given amount of pollutant causes a limited amount 
  of damage, a small number of mutant genes could have a 
  population explosion and reproduce forever, causing 
  unlimited and irreparable damage to the gene pool.

* The FDA must require mandatory pre-market long-term health 
  testing. GE products could be toxic, cause allergic 
  responses, have lower nutritional value, and compromise 
  immune responses in consumers.

* The FDA must require mandatory labeling of GE products. 
  Without mandatory labeling, neither consumers nor health 
  professionals will know if an allergic or toxic reaction 
  was the result of a genetically engineered food. Consumers 
  would be deprived of the critical knowledge needed to hold 
  food producers liable should any of these novel products 
  be hazardous.

* The FDA must end its cozy relationship with the industries
  it purports to be regulating. People have been allowed to 
  work for a biotech company, then work for the FDA writing the 
  regulatory rules on that company's product, then go back to
  working for the company.
 
Sincerely,
 
    
Richard Crotta 
P.O. Box 686
Fairfield, IA 52556
rcrotta@hotmail.com
 
P.S.  I suggest you do all the final testing on your own children and grand children for a few generations.  Then present me with the results and we can talk.  Your paradigm has a few holes in it.  I am not willing to risk the well being of my loved ones on a hunch of yours considering your tract record.