From: Lorraine Ottens [lorraine@benedetta.com] Sent: Tuesday, April 03, 2001 8:03 PM To: fdadockets@oc.fda.gov Subject: FDA Commissioner Jane Henney Dockets Management Branch (HFA 305) Food and Drug Administration 5630 FisherĮs Lane, Room 1061 Rockville, MD 20852 Dear Commissioner Henney, The proposed Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations fail to require labels or safety tests on genetically engineered (GE) food. The new rules continue to deny Americans the right to know what is in our food, while protecting the economic interests of biotech corporations. Labeling GE foods would protect the public from potential health effects that could only be traced if GE foods can be identified. By refusing to require both labeling and mandatory safety testing of foods, the FDA puts consumer's health at risk, and ignores the recommendations of the Biotechnology Consultative Forum, who in December urged the US to require mandatory labeling of GE foods. I urge you to reconsider this proposal and insure that GE foods are subject to pre-market testing and labeling. Americans have a right to make informed decisions about the food we consume. Other countries around the world have much stricter policies on this issue. I'm simply requesting what seems a basic right as an American citizen. Please don't put corporate interests before the health of the citizens of our great country. Thank you. Lorraine Ottens