More GM crops in the offing

More Genetically Modified (GM) crops are in the offing and some of them have even completed field trials. Crops like Bacillus Thuringiensis (BT) and Herbicide Tolerant (HT) maize, late blight-resistant potato, golden rice, drought tolerant corn, mustard hybrids and high-yielding crops are in the advanced stage of testing whereas Bt brinjal has already completed field tests, approved by the regulatory authorities but not yet been released by the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
More and more developing countries are coming forward to experiment with GM crops. While eight developed countries are cultivating GM crops, the number of developing countries cultivating it has reached 20. India is the fifth in terms of area under cultivation of GM crops with a total area of 10.8 million hectares in 2012, next to USA, Brazil, Argentina and Canada.
These issues came to light at the workshop on ‘Safety Assessment of Genetically Modified crops’ held at International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in association with Biotech Consortium India Limited (BCIL). More than 80 participants from 11 countries participated in the workshop.
Addressing the workshop, P. Ananda Kumar, Director, Institute of Agri Bio-Technology, said that GM crops promise a bright future and production of 38 billion bales of cotton production was made possible only with the technology. He has also stressed the need for developing virus-resistant vegetables.
Dr. B. Sesikeran, former Director, National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) and Chairman, Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM) said that Indian food safety standards were based on the best international practices, and were in accordance with the principles and guidelines of Codex Alimentarius. Dr. Rajeev Varshney, Research Programme Director, ICRISAT, said that as many as 9.5 billion people will need to be fed by 2045.
BCIL director Vibha Ahuja said that all steps are being put in place to identify and evaluate risks.

Biosafety concerns of GM crops are solvable

 HYDERABAD : Several Genetically Modified (GM) crops are at various stages of research and development in India. There is a need to streamline regulations so that technologies can be taken forward. Biosafety concerns can be clearly addressed by scientific institutions in the country as effective capabilities are available, according to P Ananda Kumar, director, Institute of Agri biotechnology, ANGRAU.

Speaking on the “Role of GM crops: Beyond Bt cotton” at a workshop on Safety Assessment of GM Crops at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) headquarters in Patancheru, organised by ICRISAT and the Biotech Consortium India (BCIL), he said, “The phenomenon success of Bt cotton has clearly shown the need for GM technology to deal with problems being faced by Indian agriculture sector.”“The phenomenon success of Bt cotton has clearly shown the need for GM technology to deal with problems being faced by Indian agriculture sector,” he said. BCIL is an organisation supported by the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India and the All India Financial Institutions to facilitate commercialisation of biotechnology and promote awareness on latest developments in the field.
There is a need to streamline regulations so that technologies can be taken forwardParticipants of the workshop included scientists from various public and private sectors engaged in the development of GM crops. Research Institutions engaged in food safety assessment as well as those conducting confined field trials have also nominated scientists to participate.Vibha Ahuja, chief general manager, BCIL introduced the objective of the workshop, highlighting the need for extensive capacity building efforts in the area of safety assessment and of confined field trials using state-of-the-art guidelines.
B Sesikeran, former director, National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) and chairman, Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM) spoke on science and safety issues with emphasis on food safety. “Indian food safety standards are based on best international practices, and are in accordance with the principles and guidelines of Codex Alimentarius,” he said. He explained the key issues involved in food safety assessment such as, toxicity, allergenicity and compositional analysis, saying that India’s food safety standards provide sufficient information for the safety assessment of GM products.

Canteens raided, samples collected

Ludhiana, November 23
A team of the health department conducted raids in canteens of schools and colleges and collected five samples of eatables. The team found that hygiene was not being maintained in most of the canteens. The raids were conducted on the directions of Civil Surgeon Dr Subhash Batta.
District health officer Dr Abnash Kumar said: “We collected five samples of eatables from canteens and shops."
The team of food safety officers Manoj Khosla and Harpreet Kaur collected three samples from three canteens — a sample of juice from the canteen of Ramgarhia College, samosa from Ramgarhia School and samosa from Devki Devi Jain School. A sample of burfi was collected from a sweets shop at Azad Nagar and a sample of burger from an eating joint at Westend Mall.
“We found that most of the canteens were serving eatables in unhygienic conditions. We have instructed employees of these canteens to follow dress code, keep their nails trimmed, get their medical tests done and not to use artificial colours in eatables. The canteen owners were also asked to apply for food licence,” said Khosla.

 

 

17 quintals of stale food seized

CUTTACK: The health squad of Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) has seized over 17 quintals of stale food since the Bali Yatra started on November 17.
A separate squad, comprising two food safety inspectors and six food inspectors has been constituted, to conduct periodic checks on the quality of cooked and preserved food items being sold by various kiosks that have come up at the fair.
"It is really sad to say that selling of stale food has increased over the past few days at Bali Yatra. Just for a little profit, traders are playing with the health condition of customers," said Pramod Pradhan, a visitor.
"Our squad has destroyed nearly 2.5 quintals of stale food during raids in the morning," said P K Pradhan, CMC health officer.

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