“This advance resolves doubts regarding the feasibility of extending the regulatory approach currently employed for recombinant DNA-based GMOs to genome-edited organisms,” said the scientists behind the study. The paper summarizing their findings has been published in Foods.
The term ‘gene editing’ or ‘genome editing’ is often used to refer to new genetic engineering techniques that make it possible to obtain new traits to plants without adding any foreign genetic material. The most prominent technique is CRISPR-Cas.
Those opposed to such new techniques say that, besides intended changes, gene editing also causes unintended genetic alterations that can affect the products’ safety for consumers and the environment. They argue that the long-term health and environmental impact of GM crops engineered with gene editing is as yet untested.
Read more at Feed Navigator