Ni Sijie, a trainee reporter with Science Times, recently covered the renewed debate over the safety of genetically modified (GM) foods.
On October 26th, it was reported that the Ministry of Agriculture’s Special Office for Genetically Modified Management confirmed that in 2012, the Chinese Academy of Food and Drug Authentication and China Agricultural University were commissioned to conduct studies on genetically modified rice using animals such as monkeys and miniature pigs. The research focused on metabolism, immunity, reproduction, and development.
Although the Ministry clarified that the trial aimed to provide scientific data rather than serve as a safety assessment, public concerns about GM food safety have not been resolved. This has led many to question what kind of tests are truly sufficient to prove the safety of GM foods and how these assessments should be conducted.
The results have not been eliminated
One part of the project involved a 90-day feeding trial on miniature pigs. According to an interview with the China Science Journal, Professor Huang Kunlun from the School of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering at China Agricultural University stated that during the trial, the pigs showed no signs of poisoning or death. Their fur was smooth, their appetite was normal, and they developed well. Body weight, body length, and chest circumference were similar between the test group and the control group.
Despite the publication of the results, public concerns remain. Zhao Wenjin, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, questioned whether a 90-day trial could truly convince the public of the rigor of the evaluation process.
Data transparency has also become a key issue. Xiao Xianjing, a professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, emphasized that unless there are state secrets involved, all trial data should be fully disclosed. Peer review and reproducibility tests should be conducted to ensure objectivity and allow the public to better understand the study.
In response, Huang Kunlun explained that his team only provides data to the commissioning party and has no authority to decide on its release. The Ministry of Agriculture's GMO safety management office also stated that in addition to the 90-day pig trial, the project includes other tests, and all data will not be published until the project is completed in 2015.
Human trials are difficult
Huang Kunlun noted that the 90-day mini-pig feeding trial is not essential for the safety assessment of GM organisms. According to regulations, rat-based tests are usually sufficient. He explained that current GM crop research includes rice, corn, wheat, soybeans, and rapeseed, with animal experiments covering acute toxicity tests, three-generation tests, 90-day feeding tests, long-term toxicity tests, multi-generation breeding tests, and allergenicity tests.
The choice of pigs, he said, is due to their physiological and anatomical similarity to humans, which can better reflect the safety of transgenic rice for human consumption. However, Zhao Bin, a professor at Fudan University, pointed out that there are still significant differences between pigs and humans, and more research is needed before GM food safety can be conclusively determined.
This has led to ongoing discussions about conducting human trials for GM foods. Huang Kunlun, however, believes that due to ethical concerns, it is impractical to perform human trials on all GM products. He argues that if other scientific tests are comprehensive enough, human trials may not be necessary.
"Drugs can undergo human trials because they are not part of the human diet and their components are simpler. Foods, on the other hand, contain complex substances like proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals, making it difficult to track their full metabolic effects in the body," he explained.
The cumulative effect of generations is very important
According to the Ministry of Agriculture’s "Guidelines for Safety Evaluation of Genetically Modified Plants," the safety evaluation of GM crops must include toxicological analysis of newly expressed substances, allergenicity assessment, nutritional analysis, whole food safety evaluation, and other case-by-case evaluations.
Zhao Bin argued that even with rat or pig trials, it is not enough to conclude that GM crops are safe for humans, as the long-term, multi-generational effects remain unclear. He suggested that a more rigorous approach would involve testing the offspring of pigs fed with GM feed across multiple generations.
Experts from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences also emphasized the need for more systematic and long-term experiments. For example, larger sample sizes, longer testing periods, and multi-generational studies could help improve the reliability of GM safety assessments.
Zhang Jingqing, director of the Greenpeace Food and Agriculture Project, called for increased government investment in genetic safety testing and research.
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