OTTAWA — Monsanto research obtained after a court battle in Germany suggests that a genetically altered corn approved in Canada produces adverse effects in rats, scientists who've seen the study say.

But Health Canada spokeswoman Carole Saindon says there is nothing in the Monsanto data to change its opinion that the GM corn, known as Mon863, is safe.

She noted that the corn has been approved in many countries including Australia, Japan and the United States.

Mon863 is genetically engineered to produce a compound known as Bt, which is toxic to insects. Several crops containing Bt, including Mon863, are approved in Canada.

The Monsanto data shows statistically significant differences between the rats who were fed the GM corn and those fed conventional corn.

"I would conclude from these tests that the insecticide appears to have significant effects on health," Gilles-Eric Seralini, a scientist with the Commission du Genie Biomoleculair, a French government agency, said in an interview Wednesday from Geneva.

"I believe it is not an isolated case and that the pesticides contained within GMOs (genetically modified organisms) have the same kind of side effects as chemical pesticides."

Greenpeace, which obtained the 1,139-page Monsanto report under a European Union access-to-information law, says it shows that consumers are right to be suspicious of genetically modified foods.

The Monsanto research shows that rats fed GM corn had problems in their livers and kidneys, organs that remove toxins from the blood, said Seralini.

He said there are perhaps 10 studies around the world that have shown similar effects related to GM crops, but funding for research into the health effects of GMOs is hard to find.

"Governments all over the world in rich countries have invested a lot in biotechnology and they have not invested in tests on health," the scientist said.

Arpad Pusztai, a scientist who had already done a risk assessment of Mon863 for the Germans, said it shouldn't be licensed.

"It cannot be presumed that the damages to the rats' inner organs and the animals' blood picture are based on chance. Further investigations are absolutely necessary."

But an expert panel of the European Food Safety Authority said the differences between the test and control animals were not "biologically relevant since they fall within normal variation ranges."

The panel found a higher incidence of kidney inflammation in the test animals but decided these were "spontaneous" and not related to their diet. The European agency concluded the corn probably did not pose a health risk, but it has not yet been approved for registration in Europe.

Marc Richard, a spokesman for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, said the agency is aware of the Monsanto data but it hasn't changed their assessment that Mon863 is safe for animal feed.