the four common concerns of GM foods

1) Food Allergy
Allergic reactions in humans occur when a normally harmless protein enters the body and stimulates an immune response (Bernstein et al., 2003). If the novel protein in a GM food comes from a source that is know to cause allergies in humans or a source that has never been consumed as human food, the concern that the protein could elicit an immune response in humans increases

2) Increased Toxicity
Most plants produce substances that are toxic to humans. Most of the plants that humans consume produce toxins at levels low enough that they do not produce any adverse health effects. There is concern that inserting an exotic gene into a plant could cause it to produce toxins at higher levels that could be dangerous to humans. This could happen through the process of inserting the gene into the plant. If other genes in the plant become damaged during the insertion process it could cause the plant to alter its production of toxins. Alternatively, the new gene could interfere with a metabolic pathway causing a stressed plant to produce more toxins in response. Although these effects have not been observed in GM plants, they have been observed through conventional breeding methods creating a safety concern for GM plants. For example, potatoes conventionally bred for increased diseased resistance have produced higher levels of glycoalkaloids (GEO-PIE website).

3) Decreased Nutritional Value
A genetically modified plant could theoretically have lower nutritional quality than its traditional counterpart by making nutrients unavailable or indigestible to humans. For example, phytate is a compound common in seeds and grains that binds with minerals and makes them unavailable to humans. An inserted gene could cause a plant to produce higher levels of phytate decreasing the mineral nutritional value of the plant (GEO-PIE). Another example comes from a study showing that a strain of genetically modified soybean produced lower levels of phytoestrogen compounds, believed to protect against heart disease and cancer, than traditional soybeans (Bakshi, 2003).

4) Antibiotic resistance
In recent years health professionals have become alarmed by the increasing number of bacterial strains that are showing resistance to antibiotics. Bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics by creating antibiotic resistance genes through natural mutation. Biotechnologists use antibiotic resistance genes as selectable markers when inserting new genes into plants. In the early stages of the process scientists do not know if the target plant will incorporate the new gene into its genome. By attaching the desired gene to an antibiotic resistance gene the new GM plant can be tested by growing it in a solution containing the corresponding antibiotic. If the plant survives scientists know that it has taken up the antibiotic resistance gene along with the desired gene. There is concern that bacteria living in the guts of humans and animals could pick up an antibiotic resistance gene from a GM plant before the DNA becomes completely digested (GEO-PIE website)

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scary picture about GM food.

this is a picture i found saying that GM foods are harmful to our body.

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recent case of food poisoning in singapore

SEVEN children from Pat’s Schoolhouse have been hospitalized for food poisoning, and another 211 children and seven teachers are ill with related symptoms. They fell ill after eating food from caterer Mum’s Kitchen Catering, whose licence has been temporarily suspended by the National Environment Agency (NEA) pending the outcome of investigations. NEA and the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a joint press statement yesterday that the catering company had been fined for lapses in a food poisoning incident in December last year, when 35 people attending a company function came down with diarrhea and started vomiting.
In this case, the children and teachers from six of the group’s 14 centres have come down with symptoms such as diarrhoea, vomiting and fever. The six centres are in Halifax Road, Lim Ah Pin Road, Whitley Road, Claymore Road, Mount Emily and Jalan Ulu Siglap. The food served in Pat’s Schoolhouse, which has 2,000 children ranging from infants to six-year-olds across its 14 centres, is centrally prepared by Mum’s Kitchen Catering. The children affected by the food poisoning were aged two to six. The school outsourced its food preparation to “enhance operational efficiency and ensure a consistent quality of food across the different centres”, said its senior operations manager Julia Teo.
It has suspended the caterer’s services pending the completion of investigations. Meals are, for the time being, being prepared at the individual schools. On Tuesday, the children had seafood spaghetti with marinara sauce for lunch, and the teachers had mee goreng, or fried noodles. The following day, up to half the children in some classes did not show up, and parents were calling the teachers to say their children were ill.
MOH and NEA conducted joint inspections at the caterer’s premises and found a dirty refrigerator door lining but did not uncover other lapses in the food preparation and storage areas. Mum’s Kitchen Catering has been instructed to disinfect its premises and all items used in the preparation and storage of food. Ms Teo said all parents had been told to monitor their children’s health and to inform the principal if their children came down with symptoms such as prolonged vomiting, diarrhoea or fever.
The operations manager of the catering company, Mr Darren Toh, said the centralised kitchen in Bedok North was sterilised yesterday, and a committee has been set up to look into what happened. He said the lunch menu is prepared by 9.30am daily and delivered in four vehicles within the hour to Pat’s Schoolhouse centres. The caterer has been supplying food to Pat’s Schoolhouse since last July. Mr Toh said: “We are doing our checks now and will find out what happened.” He said the same ingredients also went into the food served to the caterer’s other clients – and no one elsewhere has fallen ill.

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