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1.0 INTRODUCTION TO GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD
1.1 Genetically Modified Food (GMF
World Health Organisation defined Genetically Modified Foods (GMFs) as the foods that
produced from or using Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). Genetically modified
organisms (GMOs) referred as organisms such as animals, plants or microorganisms in
which the genetic material (D!) has "een artificially manipulated or altered in a way
that does not occur naturally "y mating and#or natural recom"ination. $he process which
in%ol%es la"oratory wor&s in%ol%es the &nowledge of modern "iotechnology, recom"inant
D! technology or genetic engineering. $his technology allows selected indi%idual genes
to "e transferred from one organism into another, also "etween nonrelated species.
1.! "#$%o&e of GMF&
Genetically Modified Foods are de%eloped and mar&eted as there is demand and some
percei%ed ad%antage to the food producer and also the consumer. GMF intended to
product a food product with a lower price "ut with greater "enefit such as in the terms of
dura"ility or nutritional %alue or "oth. GMF crops could decrease the cost of production
and ha%e positi%e effects on the en%ironment in "oth de%eloped and de%eloping countries.
$he ad%ancement of GMF also greatly contri"uted in agricultural industry. 'ome "enefits
of genetic engineering in agriculture especially in plants are
i. ncreased crop yields
ii. *educed costs for food or drug production
iii. *educed need for pesticides
i%. +nhanced nutrient composition and food uality
%. *esistance to pests and disease
%i. Greater food security and medical "enefits to the world-s growing population.
%ii. De%eloping crops that mature faster and tolerate etreme en%ironmental condition,
allowing plants to grow in conditions where they might not otherwise flourish
! num"er of animals ha%e also "een genetically engineered to increase yield and decrease
suscepti"ility to disease. For eample
i. /attle ha%e "een enhanced to ehi"it resistance to mad cow disease. (0nited 'tates
Department of +nergy, 1223).
ii. 'almon ha%e "een engineered to grow larger and mature faster.
1.' Metod of GMF& "$od#ction
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GMFs are made through a process &nown as genetic engineering. Genes of interest are
transferred from one organism to another. $wo primary methods currently eist for
introducing transgenes into plant genomes.
i. $he first in%ol%es a de%ice called a 4gene gun.5 $he D! to "e introduced into the
plant cells is coated onto tiny particles. $hese particles are then physically shot
onto plant cells. 'ome of the D! comes off and is incorporated into the D! of
the recipient plant.
ii. $he second method uses a "acterium to introduce the gene(s) of interest into the
plant D!.
Fi)#$e 1* +ce,atic dia)$a, of o- GMF a$e ,ade
1. E/a,%le of GMF A%%lication
'ome eample of GMF application are summari6e in $a"le 7 "elow
Tale 1* E/a,%le& of GMO& Reltin) f$o, A)$ic#lt#$al iotecnolo)y (Ada%ted f$o,
"illi%&2 T.2 !003
Genetically O$)ani&,& Genetic Alte$ed
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Confe$$ed T$ait
In&ect $e&i&tance /orn Bacillus thuringiensis(8t) is a naturally9occurring soil
"orne "acterium that is found worldwide. $here are
se%eral strains of 8t, each with differing /ry proteins.
:roteins ha%e "een found with insecticidal acti%ity
against the +uropean corn "orer (/ry7!", /ry7!c,
/ry;/). Most of the 8t corn hy"rids, targeted against
+uropean corn "orer, produce only the /ry7!"
protein< a few produce the /ry7!c protein or the
/ry;/ protein. Modifying a corn plant to produce its
own 8t protein o%ercomes these pro"lems. :lants
produce the protein in tissues where lar%ae feed.
Finally, the protein is present whene%er newly9hatched
lar%ae try to feed, so the timing of 8t application is not
a pro"lem. $he result is an efficient and consistent
"uilt9in system to deli%er 8t proteins to the target pest.
4e$icide
tole$ance
'oy"ean Glyphosate her"icide &ills plants "y "loc&ing the
+:':' en6yme, an en6yme in%ol%ed in the
"iosynthesis of aromatic amino acids, %itamins and
many secondary plant meta"olites. $here are se%eral
ways "y which crops can "e modified to "e
glyphosate9tolerant. One strategy is to incorporate a
soil "acterium gene, Agrobacterium tumefaciens,
strain /:= that produces a glyphosate9tolerant form of
+:':'. !nother way is to incorporate a different soil
"acterium gene that produces a glyphosate degrading
en6yme.
5ita,in en$ic,ent *ice Golden rice is a %ariety of rice
(Oryza sativa) produced
through genetic engineering to
"iosynthesi6e "eta9carotene, a
precursor of %itamin !, in the
edi"le parts of rice. $he
research was conducted with
the goal of producing a
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fortified food to "e grown and
consumed in areas with a
shortage of dietary %itamin !.
! &ey "rea&through was the
disco%ery that a single
phytoene desaturase gene
("acterial /rtl) can "e used to
produce lycopene from
phytoene in GM tomato, rather
than ha%ing to introduce the
multiple carotene desaturases
that are normally used "y
higher plants. >ycopene is
then cycli6ed to "eta9carotene
"y the endogenous cyclase in
Golden *ice.Golden rice was
created "y transforming rice
with only two "eta9carotene
"iosynthesis genes
i. psy (phytoene
synthase) from daffodil
(Narcissus
pseudonarcissus)
ii. crtl (carotene
desaturase) from the
soil "acteriumErwiniauredovora
Fa&te$ ,at#$ation 'almon ! type 7 growth hormone gene in?ected into fertili6ed
fish eggs results in @.1A retention of the %ector at one
year of age, as well as significantly increased growth
rates. $he GM eggs hatched two days earlier than the
non9GM cohort (= %ersus @ days). GM salmon had
reached a si6e more typical of two9year9old non9GM
salmon raised in the hatchery. $he one9year9old GM
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fish had also passed from the parr to smolt stage of
de%elopment, while this transformation too& two years
for the non9GM salmon. $he GM salmon "ecame
seually mature at two years of age, whereas the non9
GM salmon reuired three years to reach this stage of
de%elopment.
1.6 Deate on GMF
$here are a num"er of ethical concerns o%er genetically modified (GM) foods and these ha%e
all affected pu"lic support of the products. $he issues ha%e also triggered contro%ersy and
regulations around GM foods and any company that produces these crops or products.
/oncerns range from the en%ironment to ris&s to our food we" or issues concerning disease,
allergies and contamination.
7.B.7 8enefits $he !cceptance of GMF
i. +conomical
Farmers were con%inced that they stand to ma&e enormous profits from growing GM
crops. nitially, the GM crops are %erycostly "ut money can "e sa%ed on other
ependiture such as on pesticides. $o produce the GM crops, modern "iotechnology is
used which reuires highly s&illed people and sophisticated and epensi%e
euipment. >arge companies need considera"le in%estments in la"oratories, euipment
and human resources, hence the reason why GM crops are more epensi%e for farmers
than traditional crops. Howe%er GM crops are a far "etter option as it ta&es a shorter
time to produce the desired product, it is precise and there are no unwanted genes.
ii. Her"icide9resistant crops
GM crops can "e produced to "e her"icide resistant. $his means that farmers could
spray these crops with her"icide and &ill the weeds, without affecting other the crops.
$his can reduce the amount of her"icide used which su"seuently reduces the costs for
farmers and consumers. 8iotechnology companies are e%en eperimenting with crops
that can "e genetically modified to "e drought and salt9tolerant, or less reliant on
fertili6er, opening up new areas to "e farmed and leading to increased producti%ity.
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iii. 8etter uality foods
!nimals that genetically modified can "e leaner, grow faster, and need less food. $hey
could also "e modified to ha%e special characteristics, such as greater mil& production,
high nutritional content of %itamins, lower cholesterol le%el and suita"le for people
with certain allergies. $hese modifications contri"ute to the impro%ement of
producti%ity for farmers and ultimately lower costs for the consumer. Modified crops
could perhaps pre%ent out"rea&s such as foot and mouth disease, which has de%astated
many farmers and local economies.
1.6.! Ri&7&* Te Re8ection of GMF
$he ma?or concerns of those who oppose GM foods focused on the
i. +n%ironmental damage
$he pro"lem with GM crops is that effect in the ecosystem is still un&nown. $he
genetic structure of any li%ing organism is comple and GM crop tests focus on short9
term effects. ot all the effects of introducing a foreign gene into the intricate genetic
structure of an organism are tested. $here is always the possi"ility that GM crops
might not "e a"le to "e destroyed once they spread into the natural ecosystem. n
+urope, for eample, a strain of sugar "eet that was genetically modified to "e
resistant to a particular her"icide has accidently assimilated the genes to resist another.
$his was disco%ered when farmers attempted to destroy the crop in 8ritain, France and
etherlands, where it was "eing tested, and 2.BA of the crop sur%i%ed.
ii. >ac& of "iodi%ersity
When a GMF is first introduced, the seeds are usually deri%ed from a single strain. f
this crop "ecomes greatly popular, it will result with multiple farmers planting one and
only one strain or %ariety of the crop, lea%ing all of the new crops eposed to disease.
For eample, the *ain"ow papaya, the strain chosen to recei%e the transgene for
ringspot9%irus resistance turned out to "e %ulnera"le to the "lac&spot fungus. $he
pro"lem can "e a%oided "y "reeding the GM trait into se%eral %arieties using
con%entional methods. GMFs are not the only crops lac&ing "iodi%ersity, nor are lac&
of "iodi%ersity a new concern. $his would li&ely "e less of a pro"lem if more GMF
companies were a"le to enter into the mar&et pro%iding more %ariety of crops, or if the
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GMF crops could "e allowed to hy"ridi6e with other strains. n other words, it-s a
pro"lem caused "y the restrictions on GMF crops.
!.0 CONTENT
!.1 Con&ide$ation of C#$$ent 4ealt Facto$& and Conce$n& 9en De:elo%in) Ne- Food
Genetically modified organisms (GMO5s) are a "road group of plants, animals, and "acteria
that are engineered for a wide %ariety of applications ranging from agricultural production to
scientific research. $he types of potential ha6ards posed "y GMO5s %ary according to the type
of organism "eing modified and its intended application. Most of the concern surrounding
GMO5s relates to their potential for negati%e effects on the en%ironment and human health.
8ecause GMO5s that could directly affect human health are primarily products that can enter
the human food supply, this we"site focuses on genetically modified food. $o date, the only
types of products that ha%e "een appro%ed for human consumption in the 0.'. are genetically
modified plants (FD! we"site).
!ll genetically modified foods that ha%e "een appro%ed are considered "y the
go%ernment to "e as safe as their traditional counterparts and are generally unregulated (FD!
we"site). Howe%er, there are se%eral types of potential health effects that could result from the
insertion of a no%el gene into an organism. Health effects of primary concern to safety
assessors are production of new allergens, increased toicity, decreased nutrition, and
anti"iotic resistance (8ernstein et al., 122C).
i. Food Alle$)yFood !llergy affects approimately BA of children and 1A of adults in the 0.'. and is
a significant pu"lic health threat .!llergic reactions in humans occur when a normally
harmless protein enters the "ody and stimulates an immune response .f the no%el
protein in a GM food comes from a source that is &nown to cause allergies in humans
or a source that has ne%er "een consumed as human food, the concern that the protein
could elicit an immune response in humans increases. !lthough no allergic reactions to
GM food "y consumers ha%e "een confirmed, in %itro e%idence suggesting that some
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GM products could cause an allergic reaction has moti%ated "iotechnology companies
to discontinue their de%elopment.
ii. Inc$ea&ed To/icity
Most plants produce su"stances that are toic to humans. Most of the plants that
humans consume produce toins at le%els low enough that they do not produce any
ad%erse health effects. $here is concern that inserting an eotic gene into a plant could
cause it to produce toins at higher le%els that could "e dangerous to humans. $his
could happen through the process of inserting the gene into the plant. f other genes in
the plant "ecome damaged during the insertion process it could cause the plant to alter
its production of toins. !lternati%ely, the new gene could interfere with a meta"olicpathway causing a stressed plant to produce more toins in response. !lthough these
effects ha%e not "een o"ser%ed in GM plants, they ha%e "een o"ser%ed through
con%entional "reeding methods creating a safety concern for GM plants. For eample,
potatoes con%entionally "red for increased diseased resistance ha%e produced higher
le%els of glycoal&aloids.
iii. Dec$ea&ed N#t$itional 5al#e
! genetically modified plant could theoretically ha%e lower nutritional uality than its
traditional counterpart "y ma&ing nutrients una%aila"le or indigesti"le to humans. For
eample, phytate is a compound common in seeds and grains that "inds with minerals
and ma&es them una%aila"le to humans. !n inserted gene could cause a plant to
produce higher le%els of phytate decreasing the mineral nutritional %alue of the plant.
!nother eample comes from a study showing that a strain of genetically modified
soy"ean produced lower le%els of phytoestrogen compounds, "elie%ed to protect
against heart disease and cancer, than traditional soy"eans.
i:. Antiiotic $e&i&tance
n recent years health professionals ha%e "ecome alarmed "y the increasing num"er of
"acterial strains that are showing resistance to anti"iotics. 8acteria de%elop resistance
to anti"iotics "y creating anti"iotic resistance genes through natural mutation.
8iotechnologists use anti"iotic resistance genes as selecta"le mar&ers when inserting
new genes into plants. n the early stages of the process scientists do not &now if the
target plant will incorporate the new gene into its genome. 8y attaching the desired
gene to an anti"iotic resistance gene the new GM plant can "e tested "y growing it in a
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solution containing the corresponding anti"iotic. f the plant sur%i%es scientists &now
that it has ta&en up the anti"iotic resistance gene along with the desired gene. $here is
concern that "acteria li%ing in the guts of humans and animals could pic& up an
anti"iotic resistance gene from a GM plant "efore the D! "ecomes completely
digested. t is not clear what sort of ris& the possi"ility of conferring anti"iotic
resistance to "acteria presents. o one has e%er o"ser%ed "acteria incorporating new
D! from the digesti%e system under controlled la"oratory conditions. $he two types
of anti"iotic resistance genes used "y "iotechnologists are ones that already eist in
"acteria in nature so the process would not introduce new anti"iotic resistance to
"acteria. e%er the less it is a concern and the FD! is encouraging "iotechnologists to
phase out the practice of using anti"iotic resistance genes.
:. Gene t$an&fe$.
Gene transfer from GM foods to cells of the "ody or to "acteria in the gastrointestinal
tract would cause concern if the transferred genetic material "adly affects human
health. $his condition related to anti"iotic resistance genes that used as mar&ers when
creating GMOs, were to "e transferred. +%en though the possi"ility of transfer is low,
the use of gene transfer technology that does not in%ol%e anti"iotic resistance genes is
encouraged.
:i. O#tc$o&&in).
Outcrossing referred to the migration of genes from GM plants into con%entional crops
or related species in the wild as well as the miing of crops deri%ed from con%entional
seeds with GM crops. $his may cause an indirect effect on food safety and food
security. 'ome cases that ha%e "een reported where GM crops permitted for animal
feed or industrial use were traced at low le%els in the products proposed for human
consumption. 'ome countries ha%e appro%ed strategies to reduce miing, including a
clear separation of the fields within which GM crops and con%entional crops are
grown.
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Fi)#$e !* G$o-in) E:idence of 4a$, f$o, GMO
Fi)#$e '* G$o-in) E:idence of 4a$, f$o, GMO
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!.! Can)in) of Con,e$ Life&tyle on Food "$od#ct De:elo%,ent
Food product de%elopment needs to "e "ased on consumers5 needs and wishes to "e
successful. Factors that ha%e "ecome rele%ant in respect to changing in consumer lifestyles inthe world and their impacts upon worldwide food product de%elopment are presented
discussed li&e9
/ultural influences
!ging and health issues
8usy lifestyles
Food safety and ethical issues
+n%ironmental issues
i. C#lt#$al Infl#ence&
/ulture has "een defined "y Hofstede and Hofstede (122B) as the collecti%e programming
of the mind that distinguishes the mem"ers of one group or category of people from
anotherE. Harrison and Huntington also added to the culture definition that the ideas that
distinguish one group of people from another must "e socially inherited and customarytd, 0J (7;;@), pp. 7BBN7@3.
3. ' Henson, 8 $raill (7;;C). /onsumer perceptions of food safety and their impact on
food choice. G.G 8irch, G /amp"ell9:latt (+ds.), Food safetyKthe challenge ahead,
ntercept, !ndo%er , pp. C;NBB
. +.8 Moseley (7;;;). $he safety and social acceptance of no%el foods. nternational
ournal of Food Micro"iology, B2, pp. 1BNC7
;. / *o"iston (7;;3). Genetically modified foods and consumer choice. $rends in Food
'cience $echnology, , pp. =N
72. H $ent (7;;;). *esearch on food safety in the 17st century. Food /ontrol, 72, pp. 1C;N
1=7
77. WHO (127=). Freuently as&ed uestions on genetically modified foods.
71. >e, Fernande6 and Ga"riel 9 Genetically Modified Food, $he $raproc&, ol. C, May
122=, pp C3 N =2.
7C. 8.M Maghari and !. M. !rde&ni. Genetically Modified Foods and 'ocial /oncerns.
!%icenna Med 8iotech 1277< C(C) 72;9773
7=. !6adi, H. and :. Ho. 1272. Genetically Modified and Organic /rops in De%eloping
/ountries ! *e%iew of Options for Food 'ecurity.E 8iotechnology !d%ances 17@2N
7@.
7B. 8en"roo&, /. M. 1271. mpacts of Genetically +ngineered /rops on :esticide use in
the 0.'.K$he First 'iteen Iears.E +n%ironmental 'ciences +urope 1=1=.
16.:hillips, $. (122) Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) $ransgenic crops and
recom"inant D! technology. ature +ducation 7(7)17C
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