Mystery gene in soybeans sparks fresh controversy

11:00 am

CHICAGO - Fresh controversy has erupted after scientists discovered unidentified fragments of DNA in gene-altered soybeans, jolting grain markets and heating up a simmering debate about genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Biotechnology critics quickly said the latest discovery casts fresh doubts on such foods' safety, while backers of GMO crops just as quickly said that reaction was overblown and the news would hardly dent consumer confidence.

A team of Belgian scientists found alien gene fragments in soybeans grown from seed developed by biotechnology giant Monsanto which are spliced with a bacterium to make them resistant to the company's Roundup herbicide.

Marc De Loose from Belgium's Center for Agricultural Research said he and his colleagues found that the unidentified gene fragments in Roundup Ready soybeans had no link to the plant's DNA sequence or the genome of the soybeans.

But he added there was no evidence to suggest that the alien fragments could lead to any unknown effects, such as possible allergic reactions in people.

"There is no scientific data to support this idea because we checked this sequence in different generations that were on the market and we didn't see any differences. This means that the sequence is stable and all the data concerning safety are still valid in my opinion," De Loose told Reuters.

Environmental group Greenpeace said the discovery showed that Monsanto did not know "with any certainty what it is creating through genetic engineering."

"Like Dr. Frankenstein, Monsanto has created a new life form but doesn't know what will happen when it's turned loose in the world," Greenpeace genetic engineering campaigner Kimberly Wilson said.

She called for full disclosure of the data submitted by Monsanto in its registration process for Roundup Ready soybeans.

A spokeswoman for the US Food and Drug Administration, commenting on the Belgian group's research, said the agency was "aware of it and is looking into it."

Monsanto spokesman Bryan Hurley said: "This isn't a (food) safety issue. The information about the soybeans were characterized by Monsanto more than a year ago and we have shared that with regulatory authorities throughout the world."

He said the unidentified gene fragments could be the result of DNA being "rearranged" as a result of the process when the bacterium to make the plants resistant to Roundup Ready soybeans was inserted.

"It's been there since the point of the original transformation 10 years ago and throughout all of the safety tests," he said, adding that new high-precision equipment allowed the company to detect the alien fragments.

"We are better able to see the stars than a hundred years ago. It doesn't mean the stars have changed, just your perspective.... It's the same principle," Hurley said.

Hurley said he did not foresee any loss of consumer confidence in foods produced from gene-altered crops.

"As we characterize things better, it doesn't change the fundamental safety questions that are addressed and have for a long time been established," he said.

News of the discovery took its toll on soybean prices at the Chicago Board of Trade on Thursday, with speculators selling amid fears that the news might dent US soy exports to buyers like Japan or China. Down almost 20 cents at one point, soybeans for November delivery were 13 cents lower at $US5.00 a bushel near the close of trading.

The discovery comes nearly a year after an unapproved gene-altered corn entered the US food chain, sparking recalls of items such as taco shells from grocery shelves and causing a slump in exports of American corn to its top buyer, Japan.

Almost 70 per cent of the soybeans produced in the United States are genetically modified, nearly all of them Roundup Ready soybeans. Soybeans are used in a wide variety of food products but mainly as animal feed.

Roundup Ready soybeans are also grown on a large scale in Argentina, the world's third-largest soybean producer after the United States and Brazil. Europe and Japan allow the import of Roundup Ready soybeans for use as food and animal feed but do not permit their commercial cultivation.

- REUTERS

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