Foods Enhanced By Science—A WholesomeDish (NAPSA)—‘“” provides readers answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about food biotechnology. This month’s question: “Are biotechnology crops and the foods produced from them safe for human consumption?” Mary Lee Chin, a registered dietitian in Denver, answers in the affirmative. The next time you walk down the grocery aisle, remember about half of all the foods you see have been enhanced through biotechnology. Plant biotechnology has been under development for more than 20 years and American families can be assured these foods are safe because they are among the most rigorously tested and reviewed products available. Biotech crops undergo years of research and are monitored strictly by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In the past two decades, there has not been oneallergic reaction or illness attributed to eating foods produced through biotechnology. Other regulatory agencies and scientific organizations from around the world—including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, U.S. National Academy of Sciences and World Health Organization—also have declared their confidence in the safety of biotech foods. Additionally, hundreds of studies have confirmed the safety of biotech crops and food. Most recently, a 15-year, $64 million study released in October 2001 by the European Commission involved more than 400 research teams on 81 projects concluded biotech foods are as safe as or safer than conventional foods. Health and medical expert organizations, like the American Dietetic Association and the Institute of Food Technologists, agree. Registered dietitian, Mary Lee Chin, says foods that have been enhanced through biotechnology are among the mostrigorously tested and reviewed products available. In December 2000, the American Medical Association stated in its report on biotech crops and foods that it recognizes the many potential benefits offered by crops produced through biotechnology and encouraged ongoing research developments in food biotechnology. Biotechnology also has the potential to help makefoods safer. According to Steve Taylor, director of the Food Science and Technology department of the University of Nebraska, biotechnology is a promising tool for removing allergens from foods, thereby giving people a wider choice of safe foods to eat. For example, strategies are being developed to remove the allergy-causing protein from peanuts, allowing people normally allergic to enjoy this nutritious legume. Biotechnology is also a promising agricultural tool to increase the quantity and quality of foods produced. For more information about plant biotechnology, please visit www.whybiotech.com.
