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GLOBAL NEWS The Court stated that even if a functional food product (or a food containing it) is legally marketed as a food in one member state, it cannot be exported to any other member state unless it has a medicinal licence. So any company making a consumable product using fluoridated water in its preparation or as an ingredient cannot now export that product to any other state in the EC, even if their product is permitted in their home state. The economic implications are enormous. Not only does the ruling ban the use of fluoridated water for all retail catering and wholesale ood processing in the UK and reland, it also prohibits such trade tom these states to other member states of the EC. But it goes much further than even is, because if British and Irish processed foods from fluoridated areas cannot be exported to the EC, is prohibition must also apply to e importing of such products into EC member states from any other country that practises water uoridation. The decision effectively bans all processed food products from countries such as the USA, Australia and New Zealand, unless they can be positively proved to have been prepared using only water that was not fluoridated. (Source: UK Councils Against Fluoridation, 10 May 2009, http://www.ukcaf.org, http://tinyurl.com/mgcuwg) To promote its drugs, Pfizer invited doctors to consultant meetings at resort locations, paying their expenses and providing perks. "They were entertained with golf, massages and other activities," Mr Loucks said. Last October, Pfizer agreed to pay $894 million to settle thousands of personal injury claims relating to Bextra and Celebrex, the arthritis treatment that is another of its drugs. (Source: The Times, London, 3 September 2009, http://tinyurl.com/mbzkfs) PFIZER FINED $2.3 BILLION FOR DRUG SAFETY FRAUD Duss giant Pfizer has been ordered to pay USS2.3 billion for making false claims about four prescription medications. The payout—comprising a $1.3 billion criminal fine and a $1 billion civil fine—includes $102 million to be divided between 11 whistleblowers. All thought to be former employees, they became so concerned that the company was asking them to break the law and mis-sell the drugs—Bextra, Geodon, Zyvox and Lyrica—that they reported it to the authorities. Mike Loucks, the acting US Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, who led the criminal investigation of Bextra, said he hoped that the case would send a powerful message to corporate America that "blatant and continued disregard of the law" would not be tolerated. SEED COMPANIES' GRIP ON GM CROP RESEARCH cientists must ask corporations for permission before publishing independent research on genetically modified (GM) crops. Unfortunately, it is impossible to verify that GM crops perform as advertised. That is because agritech companies have given themselves veto power over the work of independent researchers. To purchase GM seeds, a customer must sign an agreement that limits what can be done with them. Agreements are considered on Agreements are necessary to protect a company’s intellectual property and they justifiably preclude the replication of the genetic enhancements that make the seeds unique. But agritech companies such as Monsanto, Pioneer and Syngenta go urther. For a decade, their user agreements have explicitly orbidden the use of the seeds for any independent research. Under he threat of litigation, scientists cannot test a seed to explore the different conditions under which it hrives or fails. They cannot compare seeds from one company against those from another company. And perhaps most importantly, they cannot examine whether the GM crops lead to unintended environmental or biological side effects. or 8 * NEXUS OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2009 www.nexusmagazine.com