030210 Illinois School Halts Sale of Research PigsFebruary 10, 2003Urbana, IL - A university livestock program has stopped selling former research pigs to market after the announcement of a federal investigation into whether the animals had been genetically modified. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign took the step late last week after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said more than 300 pigs sold to market should have been destroyed. The research involved increasing pigs' natural levels of some growth proteins already present in meat. None of manipulated the pigs was sold, but 386 of their offspring were sold to a livestock dealer after tests verified the piglets hadn't inherited changed genes, the school said. Federal health officials said the pigs might have entered the nation's food supply but posed no health risk. If the FDA determines its bioengineering research rules were broken, it could impose fines or suspend other university research. The investigation involves only swine, but the school said it also temporarily halted the sale of chickens, goats and cows to be sure it is complying with regulations.
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