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Genetically Modified Food
Genetically modified (GM) foods are foods derived from organisms whose genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally or in traditional crossbreeding.
Individual desired gene from one organism is transferred into another, known as Recombinant DNA technology or genetic engineering. In addition, this kind of gene manipulation can occur in between non-related species. The purpose of this kind of gene manipulation initially is to improve crop yield by incorporating plant diseases resistance gene or herbicides tolerance gene into the food plants. In the future, genetic modification will aim at altering the nutrient content of food, reducing its allergenic potential, or improving the efficiency of food production.
Currently available GM foods stem are mostly from plants - soybean and corn. Apart from the two common GM plant foods, there are also several types of GM food will be available to the markets in the future:
1. Salmon – Salmon will grow faster and grow twice in size than the wild type salmon after altering its genetic.
2. Animal feed – A large percentage of animal feed is made up by soybeans, which have genetically modified to enhance its vitamins,
amino acids and enzymes content, aimed at making food more nutritious to the livestock.
3. Oils - Rapeseed oil became an important GM crop. Originally, the rapeseed oil was too bitter to be used in foods; however, the bitterness has been removed after genetic modification and also increased rapeseed's resistance to herbicides.
4. Golden Rice – It is a kind of rice which genetically modified to make the rice itself to biosynthesize beta-carotene (a precursor of vitamin A) in the edible parts of rice.
5. Squash - Squash plants have been genetically modified to make it more resistance to viral diseases.
6. Tomatoes – Tomatoes are genetically modified to make it last longer to tolerate the long period of transportation.
7. Lematos – It is a combination of the gene of lemon and tomato. Lemato is slightly red and has a mild, fruity smell. This GM
Vegetable would have a longer shelf life and require lesser pesticide for growing.
8. Corn – Insect-killing gene is inserted into the Corn to make it more resist to the insects and thus lesser pesticides is needed.
9. Sugar Beets – Sugar beets is genetically modified to make it grow faster and resist to herbicide.
Products derived from genetic modification or products containing GM organisms are required to label in the EU, meanwhile, labeling of the GMO is not mandatory in HK, therefore, this makes identifying GM much more difficult for the customers. Because there will be more variety of GM food available to the market latterly, therefore, food seller or food producers are suggested to have a molecular testing on their food or raw materials to check whether there is contamination by the GM materials and prove their food is Nature and Organic.
Chemlab (HK) can provide GMO testing service, details please contact us.
Reference:
http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_gmf/programme_gmf_newsletter_issue_19.html
http://www.who.int/topics/food_genetically_modified/en/
http://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/biotech/20questions/en/
http://www.globalresearch.ca/genetically-modified-foods-unsafe-evidence-that-links-gm-foods-to-allergic-responses-mounts/7277
http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/10-genetically-modified-food-products.htm
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Disclaimer: The information contained is educational and does not replace any legal requirements or applicable regulations. It is not intended to constitute consulting or professional advice. Chemlab HK does not warrant that it will be error-free or will meet any particular criteria of performance or quality. Do not quote or refer any information herein without Chemlab HK’s prior written consent.
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