What is bioengineered food ingredients
With the development of science and technology, biotechnology is increasingly being widely applied in the field of Food: fermentation technology, detection of genetically modified food (GMO), …
Fermentation technology
It is an important area in food production. The selection of microbial strains with good fermentability and high efficiency is essential. Researches using genetic technology for fermentation technology mainly go into two main directions:
Genetic analysis of microorganisms used in fermentation, identification of genes coding for desirable traits to produce yield and quality of fermented products.
Creation of transgenic microorganisms for fermentation processes. It can be seen that in wine production, today people have used strains of microorganisms that have the ability to create high yield and give good taste. Most of those strains are researched, selected, and bred using genetic technology.
Previously, when producing wine, people had to use two types of microorganisms, Saccharomyces cerevisiae to create alcohol content in the ferment, and then, use Leuconostoc in secondary fermentation at storage, in order to improve High quality of wine. Today, people move towards using a strain of transgenic microorganisms to perform both processes.
For dairy fermentation products such as cheese and yogurt, in the past, people used to use microorganisms naturally present in milk for fermentation. Nowadays, new strains with definite properties have been created and the fermentation process is controlled in the desired direction. The heat-resistant enzyme λ-amylase has been widely used to produce malt and glucose from starch.
Detecting genetically modified food (GMO)
Genetically Modified Food (GMO) is used to refer to foods with ingredients from genetically modified plants, genetically modified animals (transgenic animals) – also known as GM foods, Also known as food biotechnology (biotech).
The food production process today has grown more modern and complex than in the past. Accordingly, genetically modified products are constantly increasing in number and variety, making it increasingly difficult to detect GMOs in food.
Testing of GM foods needs to be done regularly because GM agricultural products can be inadvertently mixed with non-GMO food and feed. In particular, for food import and export units, animal feed, dairy companies, etc. – the control of GMO foods is extremely necessary to meet the requirements of countries as well as consumer health.
When you regularly test genetically modified foods and commit to detecting these food groups, you will meet regulatory food requirements and ensure that your food labels also meet the requirements. demand for genetically modified foods.
Food produced using biotechnology is now available and safe for people and our planet, and in some cases technology can be used to improve safety. A number of studies conducted over the past three decades have demonstrated the safety of biotech-produced foods: consumers have been eating safe biotech foods since 1996. , there has not been a single evidence of toxicity appearing anywhere in the world.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) coordinate regulation and provide guidance on the safety testing of plant products. Agricultural crops and livestock are produced using biotechnology and foods are derived from these products. This ensures the safety of the US food supply. These regulations address issues related to the impact on human food, animal feed and the environment.
International scientific organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have evaluated the evidence on the safety and benefits of food biotechnology and they have Advocate for the responsible use of biotechnology for positive impacts now and in the future in addressing food insecurity, malnutrition and sustainability.
During the FDA’s extensive review of a new food using biotechnology, if one or more major allergens (milk, eggs, flour, fish, shellfish, nuts, soybeans, peanuts) will require testing for allergenic potential. The FDA requires special labeling for any biotechnologically or non-biotechnologically manufactured food, if there is a protein of one or more of the eight major allergens in the product.
