Simplot, one of the world’s biggest agribusinesses [and supplier of potatoes to over half of all McDonalds fast food outlets in the USA] has received USDA approval for Innate, a genetically-modified potato that produces fewer carcinogens when fried. Anti-GMO pressure groups are campaigning for the decision to be reversed.
“This approval comes after a decade of scientific development, safety assessments and extensive field tests,” said the Idaho-based Simplot, which annually processes about 3 billion pounds of potatoes.
Innate reportedly produces up to 75 percent less acrylamide, a substance that is suspected of contributing to cancer, when fried. The medical implications of the alterations have not been tested.
US Department of Agriculture chemical tests showed that all non-targeted substances remained within regular range, and that the plants posed no danger to other crops located in the vicinity. Simplot said that it expects to receive clearance from the Food and Drug Administration that the potato is safe to eat within weeks.
The company plans to use the potato’s main benefits for a two-pronged assault on the market. The spuds will be sold as a healthier alternative, and will also be supplied pre-cut to supermarkets and restaurants, due to the fact that they remain pristine-looking for longer. In fact, while the purported cancer effect will grab the headlines and curry public opinion, it is the longevity that really gives Innate its market advantage.
But an anti-GMO food groups did not share his enthusiasm.
“We think this is a really premature approval of a technology that is not being adequately regulated,”Doug Gurian-Sherman, a plant pathologist and senior scientist at the Center for Food Safety, told the New York Times.
The organization says that the RNA interference technique used for Innate is untested, and said that one of the substances suppressed by it actually plays an important role in the chemical make-up of the potato, and its ability to fight pests.' Read the article in full here: http://rt.com/usa/203567-gmo-potato-mcdonalds-fries/
Given the health risks associated with over consumption of foods, especially fried foods, and the difficulty in people changing their eating habits, should genetically modified food be used if its use can reduce these risks?
Or do GM foods present a new, unknown, set of potential health problems?
How do we balance known current health risks with unknown future health risks?
If the GM fries have a longer shelf life this may well mean less waste and more profit? How do we balance health and business?
Is the use of GM fries a good idea or is it a case of out of the frying pan into the fryer?
What do you think?
Image source
It is proposed that approval should be given for genetically modified potatoes to be used in fast food restaurants