HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Chassy, B. M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Chassy, B. M.

Food Safety Evaluation of Crops Produced through Biotechnology

University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois

Address reprint requests to: Bruce M. Chassy, PhD, 238 NSRC, 1101 West Peabody Drive, Urbana, IL 61801. E-mail: b-chassy{at}uiuc.edu

Agricultural biotechnology has been widely adopted in agriculture but is also the focus of controversy. Questions have arisen regarding food and environmental safety. In the US, responsibility for ensuring agricultural and environmental safety is delegated to the USDA and EPA, respectively. The FDA has primary responsibility for food safety, with the exception that the EPA has responsibility for the safety of proteins in plants associated with insect defense mechanisms. The food safety assessment, whether performed by the FDA or the EPA, requires evaluation of the safety of 1) the newly added DNA, 2) the safety of the newly introduced gene product and 3) the overall safety of the balance of the food. A paradigm called "Substantial Equivalence" guides the assessment. The principal food safety issues for new varieties crops are 1) potential toxicity of the newly introduced protein(s), 2) potential changes in allergenicity, 3) changes in nutrient composition, 4) unintended effects giving rise to allergenicity or toxicity and 5) the safety of antibiotic resistance marker-encoded proteins included with the transgene. All of these must be taken in the context of the predicted range of dietary exposures. The evaluation seeks to establish that there is a "reasonable likelihood of safety" and that new varieties are as safe as or safer than crops produced by traditional methods. Indeed, after extensive safety testing and some five years of experience with such crops in the marketplace, there is not a single report that would lead an expert food scientist to question the safety of such transgenic crops now in use.

Key words: food safety, agricultural biotechnology, substantial equivalence

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. W. Forsberg, J. P. Phillips, S. P. Golovan, M. Z. Fan, R. G. Meidinger, A. Ajakaiye, D. Hilborn, and R. R. Hacker The Enviropig physiology, performance, and contribution to nutrient management advances in a regulated environment: The leading edge of change in the pork industry J Anim Sci, February 1, 2003; 81(14_suppl_2): E68 - 77. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]