China Approves Safety of Gene-Edited Soybean

 

FILE - A farmer dries soybeans on October 23, 2018, in Liaocheng, Shandong Province, China. A gene-edited soybean has received approval from China, which is turning more and more to technology to increase the food supply.

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TAIPEI — 

In an effort to increase food production, China has authorized the safety of a gene-edited soybean, the nation's first approval of the technology in a crop.

Two modified genes in the soybean, created by for-profit Shandong Shunfeng Biotechnology Co. Ltd., greatly increase the amount of oleic acid in the plant.

According to a document released last week by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the safety certificate has been issued for five years beginning on April 21.

Gene editing modifies existing genes as opposed to genetic modification, which inserts foreign genes into a plant.

The technology is regarded as being less dangerous than GMOs and is subject to less regulation in some nations, such as China, which established gene-editing regulations last year.

"The approval of the safety certificate is a shot in the arm for the Shunfeng team," the company said in a statement to Reuters on Thursday.

Shunfeng asserts that it is the first Chinese company to attempt to market genetically modified crops.

According to a company official, it is now investigating about 20 different genetically modified crops, such as lettuce high in vitamin C, and crops with greater yields of rice, wheat, and maize that can withstand herbicides.

The American company Calyxt also created a high-oleic soybean, resulting in a nutritious oil that was the first genetically modified food authorized in the United States in 2019.

Before China's farmers may plant the unique soybean, a number of other procedures must be completed, including the approval of seed varieties containing the modified genes.

The permission comes at a time when Beijing's worries about feeding the nation's 1.4 billion people have grown due to trade tensions, unpredictable weather, and a war in a major grain supplier, Ukraine.

A rising middle class must contend with an increase in dietary-related illnesses.

China is also developing GMO crops, and this year they began extensive GM maize testing.

However, given fewer regulatory procedures, it is anticipated that the time it takes for gene-edited crops to reach the market will be shorter.

Aside from the United States, Japan has also allowed meals containing gene-edited ingredients, such as healthier tomatoes and fish that grow more quickly.