The food and environmental safety of Bt crops.

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) microbial pesticides have a 50-year history of safety in agriculture. Cry proteins are among the active insecticidal ingredients in these pesticides, and genes coding for Cry proteins have been introduced into agricultural crops using modern biotechnology. The Cry gene sequences are often modified to enable effective expression in planta and several Cry proteins have been modified to increase biological activity against the target pest(s).

Safety assessment of SDA soybean oil: results of a 28-day gavage study and a 90-day/one generation reproduction feeding study in rats.

Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) in the diet reduce risk of cardiac mortality. Fish oils are a dietary source of LC-PUFAs (EPA, DHA) but intake is low in Western diets. Adding beneficial amounts of LC-PUFAs to foods is limited by their instability and potential to impart off-flavors.

Safety assessment of cre recombinase.

Cre recombinase, when used as a tool in agricultural biotechnology, can precisely excise DNA sequences that may be useful in the introduction of a new trait but are not needed in the commercial product. Although the cre genetic material would not be present in the final product, the present studies were performed to assess the safety of Cre recombinase to provide confirmatory evidence of the safe use of Cre-lox technology in agricultural biotechnology. Cre recombinase shares no relevant sequence similarity to known allergens or toxins.

Modeling effects of environment, insect damage, and Bt genotypes on fumonisin accumulation in maize in Argentina and the Philippines.

Fumonisins are common contaminants of maize (Zea mays L.) grain products, especially in countries where maize is a major constituent of the diet and are harmful to human and animal health. There is a need to better define environmental conditions that favor fumonisin accumulation in the grain of maize.

Lower fumonisin mycotoxin levels in the grain of Bt corn grown in the United States in 2000-2002.

Fumonisins were monitored in corn grain collected from Bt hybrids grown in 107 locations across the United States in 2000-2002. Bt corn hybrids contain the Cry1Ab protein from Bacillus thuringiensis that controls European corn borers and other stalk-boring pests. Fumonisin levels were frequently lower in grain from Bt hybrids grown in field trials under conditions of natural (FACT trials) or manual insect infestation (university trials).

Safety assessment of DHA-rich microalgae from Schizochytrium sp.

The purpose of this series of studies was to assess the genotoxic potential of docosahexaenoic acid-rich microalgae from Schizochytrium sp. (DRM). DRM contains oil rich in highly unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs).