New testing method for GMO crops developed

Researchers from North Carolina State University in Raleigh have presented a new method to determine whether safety testing of genetically modified crops is needed. Published in Science in September, the article reported that “genomics could be used to scan new crop varieties for unexpected DNA changes,” similar to the way biomedical sciences scan human genomes to detect mutations that may be worrisome.

If the crop has new characteristics that could cause health or environmental impacts—or contain alterations that can’t be interpreted, testing would be advised.

“The size of the change made to a product and the origin of the DNA have little relationship with the results of that change,” said Fred Gould, PhD, co-director of NC State’s Genetic Engineering and Society Center.

“Changing one base pair of DNA in a crop with 2.5 billion base pairs, like corn, can make a substantial difference.”

To synchronize approaches between different governments, the authors recommend creating an international committee of crop breeders, chemists, and molecular biologists to ascertain the protocol and costs of this genomic approach.

Source: Food Business News

To view source article, visit:

https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/22174-new-way-of-testing-ge-crops-published-in-science

Organic & Non-GMO Insights December 2022