In 1995, biochemist Árpád Pusztai began testing potatoes genetically modified to produce GNA lectin from snowdrops, feeding raw and cooked samples to rats and comparing them with Desiree Red potatoes. During a 1998 World in Action interview, he said the animals showed damage to the intestinal lining and immune-system effects, adding that he would not eat the product and objected to treating consumers as “guinea pigs.” The broadcast triggered intense public and scientific controversy over genetically modified food safety.
Rowett director Philip James initially supported Pusztai but then suspended him, barred Pusztai and his wife Susan Bardócz from public discussion, and used misconduct procedures to obtain the raw data. A Rowett audit and six anonymous reviewers criticized the work; the Royal Society of Medicine later said its design, execution, and analysis were seriously flawed, including the use of too few rats for reliable statistical conclusions. The study was nevertheless published as a six-reviewer letter in The Lancet in 1999. Rowett’s August 10 statement also wrongly claimed Pusztai had used the known toxin concanavalin A, rather than snowdrop lectin; the gag order limited his immediate response. Twenty-one scientists issued a supporting memorandum in February 1999, but the findings never established that GM foods harmed humans. Pusztai’s Rowett contract was not renewed, and he later received whistleblower awards in 2005 and 2009.
