A rational approach to labeling biotech-derived foods.
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Roundup-Ready soybeans have been genetically modified to resist the effects of the herbicidal glyphosate and have become the most prevalent transgenic crop in the world. In this work, Roundup-Ready soybeans were used as raw material to study the effects of critical processing procedures such as grinding, cooking, blending, homogenization, sterilization, and spray-drying on the length of DNA fragments of an endogenous gene (lectin) and an exogenous gene (epsps) examined in material from three soybean foods of bean curd, soy milk, and soy powder and from samples taken during their processing. The results showed that various processing procedures caused degradations of both the endogenous and exogenous genes to different degrees. In the grinding procedure, endogenous gene DNA was degraded from 1883 to approximately 836 bp, and exogenous gene DNA was degraded from 1512 to approximately 408 bp. In the blending and squeeze-molding procedures, exogenous gene DNA was also degraded from about 408 to 190 bp, but there was no obvious action on the endogenous gene. After the endogenous and exogenous genes had been degraded to some degree, such as 836 and 408 bp, respectively, they were not evidently affected by cooking procedure at 100 degrees C for 15 min. However, the endogenous gene was further considerably degraded from around 836 to 162 bp in the sterilization procedure at 121 degrees C for 30 s. The effect of the homogenization step on endogenous and exogenous genes was similar to that of the cooking procedure. The coagulation procedure, principally a biochemical reaction, did not greatly affect the exogenous gene but did affect endogenous gene, reducing DNA size from about 836 to 407 bp. Furthermore, the spray-drying procedure, a process of physical shearing, high temperature, and sudden high pressure, distinctly caused degradation of both the lectin and epsps genes, rapidly decreasing the sizes from about 836 to 162 bp for the endogenous gene and from about 408 to 190 bp for the exogenous gene.
Farm animals and their products have a longstanding and successful history of providing significant contributions to human nutrition, clothing, facilitation of labour, research, development and medicine and have thus been essential in improving life expectancy and human health. With the advent of transgenic technologies the potential of farm animals for improving human health is growing and many areas remain to be explored. Recent breakthroughs in reproductive technologies, such as somatic cloning and in vitro embryo production, and their merger with molecular genetic tools, will further advance progress in this field. Here, we have summarized the contribution of farm animals to human health, covering the production of antimicrobial peptides, dietary supplements or functional foods, animals used as disease models and the contribution of animals to solving urgent environmental problems and challenges in medicine such as the shortage of human cells, tissues and organs and therapeutic proteins. Some of these areas have already reached the level of preclinical testing or commercial application, others will be further advanced only when the genomes of the animals concerned have been sequenced and annotated. Provided the necessary precautions are being taken, the transmission of pathogens from animals to humans can be avoided to provide adequate security. Overall, the promising perspectives of farm animals and their products warrant further research and development in this field.
Genetically modified (GM) soybean (carrying the EPSPS transgene) is the most common GM food in Korea. In order to assess whether genetic modification increases the allergenic risk of soybeans, the allergenicity and IgE-reactive components of wild-type and GM soybean extracts were compared in allergic adults who had been sensitized to soybeans. We enrolled 1,716 adult allergy patients and 40 healthy, non-atopic controls. Skin prick tests and IgE enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were performed using wild-type and GM soybean extracts, along with other common inhaled allergens. The specificities of serum IgE antibodies from allergic patients and the identities of the IgE-reactive components of the soybean extracts were compared using ELISA inhibition testing, 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis, and IgE immunoblotting. To evaluate the effects of digestive enzymes and heat treatment, the soybean extracts were heated or pre- incubated with or without simulated gastric and intestinal fluids. The IgE sensitization rates to wild-type and GM soybeans were identical (3.8% of allergic adults), and circulating IgE antibodies specific for the two extracts were comparable. The results of the ELISA inhibition test, SDS-PAGE, and IgE immunoblotting showed a similar composition of IgE-binding components within the wild-type and GM extracts, which was confirmed using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, IgE immunoblotting, and amino acid sequencing. None of the subjects had a positive response to purified EPSPS protein in the skin prick test, ELISA, or IgE immunoblot analysis. These findings suggest that the IgE sensitization rate to GM soybean extracts is identical to that of wild-type soybean extracts in adult allergy patients. In addition, based on both in vivo and in vitro methods, the allergenicity of wild type and GM soybean extracts was identical.
We have developed metabolically competent Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells to evaluate the genotoxicity associated with heterocyclic amines, such as those that are present in cooked foods. Into repair-deficient UV5 cells we introduced cDNAs for expressing cytochrome P450IA2 and acetyltransferases. We then genetically reverted these transformed lines to obtain matched metabolically competent repair-deficient/proficient lines. For a high mutagenic response, we find a requirement for acetyltransferase with 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ) but not with 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP). This system allows for both quantifying mutagenesis and analyzing the mutational spectra produced by heterocyclic amines.
The prevalence of food allergies (FA) has increased over the past fifteen years. The reasons suggested are changes in dietary behaviour and the evolution of food technologies. New cases of FA have been described with chayote, rambutan, arguta, pumpkin seeds, custard apple, and with mycoproteins from Fusarium.... Additives using food proteins are at high risk: caseinates, lysozyme, cochineal red, papaïn, alpha-amylase, lactase etc. Heating can reduce allergenicity or create neo-allergens, as well as storage, inducing the synthesis of allergenic stress or PR proteins. Aeroallergens (miles, moulds) contaminate foods and can induce allergic reactions. Involuntary contamination by peanut proteins on production lines is a problem which is not yet solved. Genetically modified plants are at risk of allergenicity, requiring methodological steps of investigations: the comparison of the amino-acid sequence of the transferred protein with the sequence of known allergens, the evaluation of thermo degradability and of the denaturation by pepsin and trypsin are required, as well as the study with sera from patients allergic to the plant producing the gene. The combination of enzymatic hydrolysis, heating, or the development of genetically modified plants may offer new alternatives towards hypoallergenic foods (57 references).
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In recent decades, science and food technology have contributed at an accelerated rate to the introduction of new products to satisfy nutritional, socio-economic and quality requirements. With the emergence of modern molecular genetics, the industrial importance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is continuously extended. The demand for suitable genetically modified (GM) S. cerevisiae strains for the biofuel, bakery and beverage industries or for the production of biotechnological products (e.g. enzymes, pharmaceutical products) will continuously grow in the future. Numerous specialised S. cerevisiae wine strains were obtained in recent years, possessing a wide range of optimised or novel oenological properties, capable of satisfying the demanding nature of modern winemaking practise. The unlocking of transcriptome, proteome and metabolome complexities will contribute decisively to the knowledge about the genetic make-up of commercial yeast strains and will influence wine strain improvement via genetic engineering. The most relevant advances regarding the importance and implications of the use of GM yeast strains in the wine industry are discussed in this mini-review. In this work, various aspects are considered including the strategies used for the construction of strains with respect to current legislation requirements, the environmental risk evaluations concerning the deliberate release of genetically modified yeast strains, the methods for detection of recombinant DNA and protein that are currently under evaluation, and the reasons behind the critical public perception towards the application of such strains.
A detection method using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was developed to detect the genetically modified (GM) potato (NewLeaf Plus potato; NL-P), which has not been authorized as safe in foods in Japan. The potato sucrose synthase gene was used as an internal control. The DNA from NL-P specifically provided an amplified band using PCR with a primer pair recognizing PLRV-rep gene. In addition, to prevent false-positive results in processed potato foods infected with PLRV, we designed a primer pair recognizing sequences derived from two organisms to detect specifically NL-P in processed potato. The PCR product obtained using the designed primer pair was specific for NL-P. The DNA introduced into NL-P could be detected from potato powder samples containing 0.05% NL-P. The proposed method was applied to the detection of NL-P in 25 processed potato foods. NL-P was detected in 3 snack products.
Each specific protein has an individual gene encoding it, and a foreign gene introduced to a plant can be used to synthesize a new protein. The identification of potential reproductive and developmental toxicity from novel proteins produced by genetically modified (GM) crops is a difficult task. A science-based risk assessment is needed in order to use GM crops as a conventional foodstuff. In this study, the specific characteristics of GM food and low-level chronic exposure were examined using a five-generation animal study. In each generation, rats were fed a solid pellet containing 5% GM potato and non-GM potato for 10 wk prior to mating in order to assess the potential reproductive and developmental toxic effects. In the multigeneration animal study, there were no GM potato-related changes in body weight, food consumption, reproductive performance, and organ weight. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was carried out using extracted genomic DNA to examine the possibility of gene persistence in the organ tissues after a long-term exposure to low levels of GM feed. In each generation, the gene responsible for bar was not found in any of the reproductive organs of the GM potato-treated male and female rats, and the litter-related indexes did not show any genetically modified organism (GMO)-related changes. The results suggest that genetically modified crops have no adverse effects on the multigeneration reproductive-developmental ability.
One usually thinks of plant biology as a non-controversial topic, but the concerns raised over the biosafety of genetically modified (GM) plants have reached disproportionate levels relative to the actual risks. While the technology of changing the genome of plants has been gradually refined and increasingly implemented, the commercialization of GM crops has exploded. Today's commercialized transgenic plants have been produced using Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation or gene gun-mediated transformation. Recently, incremental improvements of biotechnologies, such as the use of green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a selectable marker, have been developed. Non-transformation genetic modification technologies such as chimeraplasty will be increasingly used to more precisely modify germplasm. In spite of the increasing knowledge about genetic modification of plants, concerns over ecological and food biosafety have escalated beyond scientific rationality. While several risks associated with GM crops and foods have been identified, the popular press, spurred by colorful protest groups, has left the general public with a sense of imminent danger. Reviewed here are the risks that are currently under research. Ecological biosafety research has identified potential risks associated with certain crop/transgene combinations, such as intra- and interspecific transgene flow, persistence and the consequences of transgenes in unintended hosts. Resistance management strategies for insect resistance transgenes and non-target effects of these genes have also been studied. Food biosafety research has focused on transgenic product toxicity and allergenicity. However, an estimated 3.5 x 10(12) transgenic plants have been grown in the U.S. in the past 12 years, with over two trillion being grown in 1999 and 2000 alone. These large numbers and the absence of any negative reports of compromised biosafety indicate that genetic modification by biotechnology poses no immediate or significant risks and that resulting food products from GM crops are as safe as foods from conventional varieties. We are increasingly convinced that scientists have a duty to conduct objective research and to effectively communicate the results--especially those pertaining to the relative risks and potential benefits--to scientists first and then to the public. All stakeholders in the technology need more effective dialogues to better understand risks and benefits of adopting or not adopting agricultural biotechnologies.
Environmental risk assessment of genetically modified organisms requires determination of their fitness and invasiveness relative to conspecifics and other ecosystem members. Cultured growth hormone transgenic coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) have enhanced feeding capacity and growth, which can result in large enhancements in body size (>7-fold) relative to nontransgenic salmon, but in nature, the ability to compete for available food is a key factor determining survival fitness and invasiveness of a genotype. When transgenic and nontransgenic salmon were cohabitated and competed for different levels of food, transgenic salmon consistently outgrew nontransgenic fish and could affect the growth of nontransgenic cohorts except when food availability was high. When food abundance was low, dominant individuals emerged, invariably transgenic, that directed strong agonistic and cannibalistic behavior to cohorts and dominated the acquisition of limited food resources. When food availability was low, all groups containing transgenic salmon experienced population crashes or complete extinctions, whereas groups containing only nontransgenic salmon had good (72.0 +/- 4.3% SE) survival, and their population biomass continued to increase. Thus, effects of growth hormone transgenic salmon on experimental populations were primarily mediated by an interaction between food availability and population structure. These data, while indicative of forces which may act on natural populations, also underscore the importance of genotype by environment interactions in influencing risk assessment data for genetically modified organisms and suggest that, for species such as salmon which are derived from large complex ecosystems, considerable caution is warranted in applying data from individual studies.
This report presents the conclusions of a Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee convened to evaluate the safety of various food additives, with a view to recommending Acceptable Daily Intakes (ADIs) for humans, and to prepare specifications for the identity and purity of food additives. The first part of the report contains a general discussion of the principles governing the toxicological evaluation of food additives, the assessment of intake of food additives, and the establishment and revision of specifications, including comments concerning enzyme preparations derived from genetically modified microorganisms and limits for heavy metals. A summary follows of the Committee's evaluations of toxicological data on specific food additives, including enzyme preparations (alpha-acetolactate decarboxylase and maltogenic amylase), flavouring agents (trans-anethole, furfural and menthol), food colours (curcumin and riboflavin from genetically modified Bacillus subtilis), glazing agents (medium- and low-viscosity mineral oils), preservatives (sulfur dioxide and sulfites), a sweetening agent (stevioside), thickening agents (carrageenan, processed Eucheuma seaweed and enzymatically hydrolysed sodium carboxymethyl cellulose), gamma-cyclodextrin, glucono-delta-lactone and the calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium salts of gluconic acid, and polyglycitol syrup. The Committee also evaluated the safety of various groups of flavouring agents and assessed the intake of specific food additives, including benzoates, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), sulfites and tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ). Annexed to the report are tables summarizing the Committee's recommendations for ADIs of the food additives considered, changes in the status of specifications for these substances and specific flavouring agents, and further toxicological studies and other information required or desired.
Breakthroughs in science and technology are accelerating development of new products that are impacting our regulatory systems. Genetically modified or bioengineering plant varieties have entered the food supply on a global basis, especially in the U.S. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates on the premise of 'substantial equivalence' and has developed premarket notification procedures and voluntary labeling guidelines. Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare regulates biotechnology products and has imposed biotechnology labeling regulations. However, the EU continues to be in a regulatory gridlock between member states and has proposed strict traceability and labeling guidelines. These requirements are currently restricting imports of bioengineered foods and are creating an international debate. In contrast to bioengineered plant varieties, to our knowledge, there are no strains of lactic acid bacterial starter cultures on the market that contain rDNA. The majority of strains have been improved via selection and mutagenesis. However, conjugation and electroporation have been used to transfer native lactococcal phage resistance plasmids to industrial strains. In addition, plasmids have been introduced to allow for selection of certain characteristics and then been eliminated by curing. The potential benefits of bioengineered foods are far reaching and are one of the most important opportunities of this century. However, bioengineered foods remain an emotional debate that is affecting world trade.
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The use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in agriculture and food production is the object of an intense and divisive debate. Drawing on a study on the public perception of agricultural gene technologies carried out in five European countries, the article deals with the policy aspects of the issue, and more precisely on the relation between institutions, experts and the public in a context of deep uncertainty. A theoretical framework is developed and compared with the study findings, suggesting that issues like the GMOs one represent a strong case for a more participatory policy-making. My conclusions suggest a style of governance based on the principles of deliberative democracy, as a suitable approach to the confrontation of different viewpoints and forms of knowledge. This appears to be the best way to improve the overall quality of policy-making: in this I include its legitimacy, the degree of public trust, and also the actual quality of its products. Strengthening the role of the public sphere seems more effective than simply increasing direct decision-making by the populace, and it offers an alternative to the 'elitist' solutions to the crisis of representative democracy.
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