GM food found to be biochemically the same as non-GM food

A new study into the make-up of genetically modified (GM) foods could allay consumers’ fears about the products, researchers say.

Owen Hoekenga of Cornell University led a study in which scientists extracted around 1000 metabolites from tomatoes genetically engineered to delay ripening. This ‘metabolic profile’ was then compared to the profile of its non-GM counterpart.

Extracting and analysing hundreds of metabolites gives a snapshot of the fruit’s physiology which can be compared to others, the researchers say.

Comparing the metabolic profile of the GM tomato with that of a range of non-GM varieties - including modern and heirloom varieties - the researchers found no significant differences overall.

Although the GM tomato was distinct from its non-GM counterpart, its metabolic profile still fell within the ‘normal’ range of biochemical diversity exhibited by the group of tomatoes. The only difference was that the biochemical diversity related to fruit ripening showed a significant difference - no surprises there, since this was the object of the genetic modification.

Hoekenga says the finding suggests little or no accidental biochemical change due to genetic modification in this case, but provides “a useful way to address consumer concerns about unintended effects”.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) already requires that GM crops be compared to non-GM equivalents to ensure that genetic manipulation hasn’t affected nutritional quality. Comparing a wide range of cultivars can put any biochemical changes into perspective, Hoekenga says.

“We accept that there isn’t just one kind of tomato at the farmer’s market. We look for diverse food experiences,” Hoekenga said. “So we think that establishing the range of acceptable metabolic variability [in food] can be useful for examining GM varieties.”

While the process was expensive and the chemistry methods can’t yet be used in official safety assessments, the techniques can be applied to any plant or crop.

The study was published in the March issue of the journal The Plant Genome. A copy of the full article about Hoekenga’s research can be found here