Agricultural-Biotechnology-and-Food-Safety.pptx

Agricultural Biotechnology

1. Agricultural Biotechnology and Food Safety

2. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) World Health Organization (WHO)

3. H ow is a food determined to be safe? Researchers must prepare comprehensive data to support the safety and wholesomeness of new crop varieties developed through biotechnology. This process requires years of laboratory and field testing before a product can be brought to the market . safety assessment strategies involve several key steps. These steps include molecular characterisation of the genetic modification, agronomic characterisation , nutritional assessment, toxicological assessment and safety assessment

4. Does the genetically modified food have a traditional counterpart that has a history of safe use? Has the concentration of any naturally occurring toxins or allergens in the food changed? Have the levels of key nutrients changed? Do new substances in the genetically modified food have a history of safe use? Has the food’s digestibility been affected? Has the food been produced using accepted, established procedures? Questions addressed for food safety assessment

5. Safety assessment Molecular characterisation – for new plant varieties produced through modern biotechnology, the source of the gene introduced into the plant is first identified. The transformation system used to insert the gene is defined, as well as the number of copies of inserted genes and the integrity and stability of the genetic insert.

6. Agronomic traits Usually the starting points for evaluating substantial equivalence. For example, in the case of potatoes, the traits commonly examined are yield, tuber size and distribution, dry matter content and disease resistance.

7. Nutritional assessment Involves key nutrients including fats, proteins, carbohydrates and essential vitamins and minerals

8. Toxicology Assessment Toxicants and anti-nutrients are compounds known to be naturally present in some crops that could have an impact on health if their levels increased. For example, solanine glycoalkaloids in potatoes or trypsin inhibitors in soybeans). The levels of anti-nutrients in crops produced through biotechnology are compared to conventionally produced varieties grown under comparable environmental and agronomic conditions.

9. Safety assessment When a crop produced through biotechnology is shown to be substantially equivalent to a conventional crop, the safety assessment focuses on the introduced trait and the expressed protein product.

10. Allergens Ninety percent of all food allergies are associated with only eight foods or food groups – shellfish, eggs, fish, milk, peanuts, soybeans, tree nuts, and wheat. These, and many other food allergens, are well characterized. To date, genes found to express any known allergenic protein have been specifically excluded from the research and development process.

11. Antibiotic Resistance Some biotechnology crops contain genes for a trait called antibiotic resistance.

12. Food biotechnology can help Asia feed itself • Food biotechnology can help to increase yields and produce better quality and more nutritious foods. • Food biotechnology is not a panacea for all the region’s food production problems. The supply of food is a complex process and biotechnology cannot, and does not, apply to all the issues that face the region in the area of food security. It does however offer a useful and important tool in helping to address food security and quality issues in Asia. • Biotechnology may contribute to solving the challenge of conserving non-agricultural land, whilst producing sufficient food for growing population through increased yield productivity. • Biotechnology provides greater opportunities to grow crops where it was previously impossible, due to extreme weather or soil conditions.

13. direct consumer benefits if biotechnology produced food While most corn, soybeans and other crops produced through biotechnology are no different in nutrition, composition or safety than conventionally produced crops; some actually have improved nutritional profiles that benefit consumers. • The need for pesticides is reduced because biotechnology strengthens a crop’s ability to defend itself against destructive insects.

14. - Oils produced through biotechnology better withstand high temperatures helping to cut back the processing of some foods. - Some oils have lower levels of saturated fats. - Potatoes with increased levels of solids that absorb less fat when frying. - Rice fortified with vitamin A may reduce the risk of diseases associated with vitamin A deficiency. - Delayed ripening traits can produce fruits and vegetables with better flavour and remain fresh for longer periods of time. - Increased solid matter content of tomatoes and potentially other fruits and vegetables results in superior taste and quality

15. Food biotechnology is a green technology Biotechnology offers considerable benefits for the environment. Crops produced using biotechnology require less pesticide. • More efficient use of herbicides leads to less damage to the environment from pollution and soil erosion. • Biotechnology helps protect water by reducing the level of nutrients in farm runoff and conserving topsoil. • Plant diseases that can destroy an entire crop are now largely preventable among certain crops, protecting farmers and our food supply from devastating losses.