From: elaines531@aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, February 06, 2001 7:48 AM
To: fdadockets@oc.fda.gov
Subject: Docket No. 00N-1396, and 00D-1598



Jane Henney
Dockets Management Branch, Food and Drug Administration
5630 Fisher's Lane, Room 1061
Rockville, MD 20852

Dear Jane Henney,

The new regulations and guidelines put forward by your
agency on genetically engineered (GE) foods are a disappointment
for American consumers. Despite overwhelming and consistent
demand, your agency still fails to require comprehensive
safety testing for GE foods. The notification policy
ignores strong scientific evidence of numerous potential
health and environmental risks to GE foods, and allows
the current system of laissez-faire oversight to continue.
As you know, genetically engineered foods can be toxic,
cause allergic responses, have lower nutrition value,
compromise immune responses in consumers, and cause
irreparable damage to the environment. 

I am also greatly opposed to your new "voluntary labeling"
policy, which denies consumers a basic right to know.
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
will also be deprived of the critical knowledge they
need to hold food 



Sincerely,


Elaine Friedman
3861 NW 35th St
Coconut Creek, Florida 33066