Does genetic manipulation causes unintended changes in food quality and composition? Are genetically modified (GM) foods less nutritious than their non-GM counterparts, or different in unknown ways?
In research led by Owen Hoekenga, a Cornell University adjunct assistant professor, scientists extracted roughly 1,000 biochemicals, or “metabolites,” from the fruit of tomatoes. This study was published in the March issue of The Plant Genome. These tomatoes had been genetically engineered to delay fruit ripening—a common technique to help keep fruits fresher longer. The researchers then compared this “metabolic profile” from the GM fruit to the profile of its non-GM variety.
Extracting and analyzing hundreds metabolites at once gives researchers a snapshot of the fruit’s physiology, which can be compared against others.
Read the full, original article: A new approach to detecting changes in GM foods
