OGM Food Products
How is GM used in food production?
Genetic modification can be used in a number of ways in food production. These range from modifying the raw ingredients to using genetic modification during processing.
When genetic modification is used as a part of the production process, as described in 4 below, the GM material does not end up in the food on our plates. This is similar to other processing techniques, so, for example, when a food processor is used for slicing, no part of the processor ends up in the meal we eat.
These are the different ways that genetic modification can be used in food production:
1. GM food: A crop, such as a fruit or vegetable, or an animal can be genetically modified. (However, no animal or human genes, or GM animals, have been approved for use in GM food in the EU.)
2. GM ingredients: Food that comes from a GM crop, such as maize, can be processed, for example into flour, and the GM DNA is still present in the food and can be identified.
3. ‘GM-derived’ ingredients: Food can come from a GM crop but the DNA can be processed out of the final product – this is called 'GM-derived'. An example of this is soy oil, which is made from GM soya beans. The processing breaks up the DNA so that it can no longer be identified either as GM DNA or conventional DNA in the final oil because it has been broken down into fatty acids. Therefore, soy oil from GM soya beans cannot be distinguished from soy oil from conventional beans.
4. GM processing aid: A GM organism can also be used to make a product without GM material being present in the ingredients or in the final product. In this case the GM organism is a 'processing aid'. One example is hard cheese production. The enzyme chymosin is the active ingredient of rennet, which is used to curdle milk. Traditionally, rennet has been taken from calves’ stomachs, but the demand for cheese is greater than the number of calves available and the chymosin does not always produce consistent batches of cheese. Today, the gene responsible for producing chymosin is inserted in bacteria, so the bacteria make the chymosin instead of using traditional rennet. Only the bacteria are genetically modified, not the chymosin, and so the cheese has no GM content because the bacteria are not part of the cheese.
5. GM ingredients in animal feed: GM crops, such as maize, are also used to feed animals that are later eaten, such as chickens. There are also animal products, such as eggs and milk, that come from animals fed on GM crops. Functioning GM DNA is not, however, in the meat that we eat or these animal products. See the following two paragraphs that explain what happens to DNA in our bodies and during food processing.
After Reading all the above. Are you for or against GM Foods?
Why not help by voting at this site
Voting Open from 15th September 2007 until 15 November 2007
How is GM used in food production?
Genetic modification can be used in a number of ways in food production. These range from modifying the raw ingredients to using genetic modification during processing.
When genetic modification is used as a part of the production process, as described in 4 below, the GM material does not end up in the food on our plates. This is similar to other processing techniques, so, for example, when a food processor is used for slicing, no part of the processor ends up in the meal we eat.
These are the different ways that genetic modification can be used in food production:
1. GM food: A crop, such as a fruit or vegetable, or an animal can be genetically modified. (However, no animal or human genes, or GM animals, have been approved for use in GM food in the EU.)
2. GM ingredients: Food that comes from a GM crop, such as maize, can be processed, for example into flour, and the GM DNA is still present in the food and can be identified.
3. ‘GM-derived’ ingredients: Food can come from a GM crop but the DNA can be processed out of the final product – this is called 'GM-derived'. An example of this is soy oil, which is made from GM soya beans. The processing breaks up the DNA so that it can no longer be identified either as GM DNA or conventional DNA in the final oil because it has been broken down into fatty acids. Therefore, soy oil from GM soya beans cannot be distinguished from soy oil from conventional beans.
4. GM processing aid: A GM organism can also be used to make a product without GM material being present in the ingredients or in the final product. In this case the GM organism is a 'processing aid'. One example is hard cheese production. The enzyme chymosin is the active ingredient of rennet, which is used to curdle milk. Traditionally, rennet has been taken from calves’ stomachs, but the demand for cheese is greater than the number of calves available and the chymosin does not always produce consistent batches of cheese. Today, the gene responsible for producing chymosin is inserted in bacteria, so the bacteria make the chymosin instead of using traditional rennet. Only the bacteria are genetically modified, not the chymosin, and so the cheese has no GM content because the bacteria are not part of the cheese.
5. GM ingredients in animal feed: GM crops, such as maize, are also used to feed animals that are later eaten, such as chickens. There are also animal products, such as eggs and milk, that come from animals fed on GM crops. Functioning GM DNA is not, however, in the meat that we eat or these animal products. See the following two paragraphs that explain what happens to DNA in our bodies and during food processing.
After Reading all the above. Are you for or against GM Foods?
Why not help by voting at this site
Voting Open from 15th September 2007 until 15 November 2007