Principles for the risk assessment of genetically modified microorganisms and their food products in the European Union

Genetically modified microorganisms (GMMs) are involved in the production of a variety of food and feed. The release and consumption of these products can raise questions about health and environmental safety. Therefore, the European Union has different legislative instruments in place in order to ensure the safety of such products. A key requirement is to conduct a scientific risk assessment as a prerequisite for the product to be placed on the market. This risk assessment is performed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), through its Scientific Panels. The EFSA Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms has published complete and comprehensive guidance for the risk assessment of GMMs and their products for food and/or feed use, in which the strategy and the criteria to conduct the assessment are explained, as well as the scientific data to be provided in applications for regulated products. This Guidance follows the main risk assessment principles developed by various international organisations ( and ). The assessment considers two aspects: the characterisation of the GMM and the possible effects of its modification with respect to safety, and the safety of the product itself. Due to the existing diversity of GMMs and their products, a categorisation is recommended to optimise the assessment and to determine the extent of the required data. The assessment starts with a comprehensive characterisation of the GMM, covering the recipient/parental organism, the donor(s) of the genetic material, the genetic modification, and the final GMM and its phenotype. Evaluation of the composition, potential toxicity and/or allergenicity, nutritional value and environmental impact of the product constitute further cornerstones of the process. The outcome of the assessment is reflected in a scientific opinion which indicates whether the product raises any safety issues. This opinion is taken into account by the different European regulatory authorities prior to a decision regarding authorisation to commercialise the product.     

Effects of labeling a product eco-friendly and genetically modified: A cross-cultural comparison for estimates of taste,willingness to pay and health consequences

As the demand for eco-friendly food—produced without pesticides and environmentally harmful chemicals—increases, the need to develop genetically modified (GM) organisms that are more resistant to parasites and other environmental crop threats may increase. Because of this, products labeled both “eco-friendly” and “genetically modified” could become commonly available on the market. In this paper, we explore—in a Swedish and a UK sample—the consequences of combining eco-labeling and GM-labeling to judgments of taste, health consequences and willingness to pay for raisins. Participants tasted and evaluated four categories of raisins (eco-labeled and GM-labeled; eco-labeled; GM-labeled; and neither eco-labeled nor GM-labeled). The results suggest that there is a cost associated with adding a GM-label to an eco-labeled product: The GM-label removes the psychological benefits of the eco-label. This negative effect of the GM-label was larger among Swedish participants in comparison with UK participants, because the magnitude of the positive effect of the eco-label was larger in the Swedish sample and, hence, the negative effects of the GM-label became more pronounced (especially for health estimates). The roles of individual differences in attitudes, environmental concern and socially desirable responding in relation to the label effects are discussed.     

A kind of potential food additive produced by Streptomyces coelicolor: Characteristics of blue pigment and identification of a novel compound, λ-actinorhodin

The blue pigment produced by Streptomyces coelicolor 100 with a yield as high as 3 g/l is a mixture of 10 components. The structure of one of the components was identified and it is a new actinorhodin analogue, named as λ-actinorhodin. The natural pigment can be dissolved in alkaline water solution and a number of organic solvents in common use. The color of a water solution of the pigment changes with pH value. The pigment is stable to light, heat and food additives in common use, and resistant to oxidants and reducers under acidic conditions and to reducers under alkaline conditions. Most inspected metal ions hardly affected pigment stability except for Fe²⁺ at high concentration and Pb²⁺. The pigment is nontoxic with LD₅₀ > 15,000 mg/kg in an acute toxicity trial. The good characteristics of the pigment make it potential useful in the food processing industry as an additive.     

Short chain xylooligosaccharides: a potential prebiotic used to improve batter fermentation and its effect on the quality attributes of idli,a cereal–legume‐based Indian traditional food

Xylooligosaccharides (XOS), a potential prebiotic exhibits important technological characteristics and interesting nutritional properties. The major fraction in XOS produced enzymatically from corncob was characterised as β‐d ‐xylopyranosyl‐(1,4)‐d ‐xylanopyranose (xylobiose) using ¹³C and 2D‐HSQC NMR. The use of this XOS as a prebiotic in idli, a cereal/legume‐based fermented cake, and its effect on texture, fermentation and sensory characteristics was investigated. Idli batter was fermented with different concentrations of XOS (0, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6% w/v) for 4–18 h conventionally. The addition of XOS markedly increased lactic acid bacteria number (9.88 ± 0.08 log cfu g^?1) which resulted in rapid reduction in pH (4.61 ± 0.03) and specific gravity after 6 h of fermentation when compared to conventional batter fermentation for 18 h without XOS (9.46 ± 0.06 log cfu g^?1). Instrumental (colour and texture) and sensory evaluation indicated that the optimum conditions were 0.4% XOS and 6 h fermentation. Idlis with XOS had higher moisture content and a softer texture. Addition of XOS benefits both fermentation and idli quality.