Are Foods Developed from Recombinant DNA Safe to Eat?

The National Academy of Science has concluded that these foods pose no new or unique risks.

Although any food can be mishandled, the food in the market is considered safe. New food developed through recombinant DNA is considered easier to evaluate for safety compared to those developed through traditional breeding because the new method is more precise.

Instead of randomly combining all the traits of the two parent organisms, recombinant DNA permits identification and transfer of only desirable traits.

With any new technology there are potential benefits as well as potential risks.

Biotechnology involves introducing specific genes or genetic material from the same or another species into plants or animals to achieve precise and desirable results. These results are as safe as those from traditional methods. The world's leading scientists agree that foods developed through genetic engineering are as safe, if not safer than foods developed by traditional methods.

Some believe changes produced by biotechnology are safer than traditional methods because specific genes are incorporated in those from the new product. With this precision, safety evaluation is believed to be more accurate because scientists know what has been changed and therefore what to look for when evaluating possible risk.

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