Evidence of contamination

3. MYTH - Samples from the final round of tests were all negative to GE.

FACT - Final round of tests returned on the 24 November 2000 had a mix of positive and negative results.

Evidence

The diagram of the tests conducted drawn by an official involved in the issue clearly shows that the tests from GeneScan returned three positive results for GE contamination. Samples were sent to GeneScan in the second round of testing initiated by the Government. These results were returned by the 24 November 2000 and a letter was sent discussing the findings on 5th December.

The reason for getting some negative readings in other samples is because the GE contamination is at low levels and the testing accuracies are not 100%, according to the GeneScan letter on the 5 December. This means it is not always easy to find the contamination even though it exists.

The GE contamination would also be spread unevenly through the whole shipload. There would be some pockets of contamination, and areas of no contamination that would return negative results. Some negative and some positive results would be expected and the occurrence of some negatives does not rule out the presence of GE contamination in other samples.