FOOD

BIOTECHNOLOGY
Presented by:
Marlon M. Martinez
WHAT IS FOOD
BIOTECHNOLOGY?
According to National Food
Processors Association •
www.nfpa-food.org
Food biotechnology is a process
scientists use to enhance the
production, nutritional value,
safety, and taste of foods.
WHAT IS FOOD
BIOTECHNOLOGY?
It canalso benefit the environment
by improving crops so that they need
fewer pesticides.
The concept is not new: For centuries
farmers have selectively bred plants
to pass on desirable qualities. For
example, our ancestors began by
replanting only corn seeds from the
highest yielding and best tasting corn
they grew each year.
 For example, our ancestors
began by replanting only corn
seeds from the highest yielding
and best tasting corn they
grew each year.
 This process selected desirable
genes and fixed them by
growing the seeds of the
selected crop year after year.
 The result: the golden,
deliciously sweet product we
now enjoy.
According to Nutrition Now by
Brown, Judith F., 2005
Biotechnology as applied to food
products, the process of
modifying the composition of
foods by biologically altering their
genetic makeup.
Genetic engineering of foods
GMO – genetically modified
organisms
WHAT IS FOOD BIOTECHNOLOGY?
According to Nutrition:
Everyday Choices, 1st Edition by
Grosvenor, Mary B. et al, 2006
Biotechnology, a process that
involves genetic engineering to
alter and ideally to improve –
the characteristics of plants,
animals, and other life forms.
ACCORDING TO NUTRITION: EVERYDAY
CHOICES, 1ST EDITION BY GROSVENOR,
MARY B. ET AL, 2006
Genetic engineering – a set of
techniques used to manipulate
DNA for the purpose of changing
the characteristics of an
organism or creating a new
product.
NUTRITION NOW BY BROWN,
JUDITH F., 2005
Through biotechnology, researchers
can now modify the phytochemicals
and nutrients make up foods by
altering the genetic makeup of plants
This process usually entails
identifying a favorable genetic trait in
one plant and transplanting that gene
into another plant that lacks the
characteristic.
NUTRITION NOW BY BROWN,
JUDITH F., 2005
Through altering, it is used
to transfer disease-resistant
genes from one plant to
another plant, conferring
upon it an improved ability
to resist disease.
NUTRITION NOW BY BROWN,
JUDITH F., 2005
Here are the following examples of
genetic engineering:
 Flavor genes can be transported
from one plant to another, creating
a new taste sensation like garbanzo
bean with a nutty, peppery taste
and basil preseasoned with
cinnamon.
NUTRITION NOW BY BROWN,
JUDITH F., 2005
Here are the following
examples of genetic
engineering:
 Watermelon and oranges have
had their seeds removed
through genetic engineering.
NUTRITION NOW BY BROWN,
JUDITH F., 2005
Here are the following
examples of genetic
engineering:
 Colors ofvegetables and fruits
can be modified by transferring
the appropriate genes from one
plant to another.
NUTRITION NOW BY BROWN,
JUDITH F., 2005
Here are the following
examples of genetic
engineering:
 Tomatoes have genetically
altered to stay firm during
shipment and to produce 10
times the normal amount of
lycopene
NUTRITION NOW BY BROWN,
JUDITH F., 2005
 Here arethe following examples of genetic
engineering:
 Rice has been altered to be rich in beta-
carotenes, the precursor of vitamin A. High
beta-carotene rice was produced to make good
source of vitamin A to a people in countries
where vitamin A deficiency is widespread.
 Called GOLDEN RICE – it contains two genes
extracted from daffodils and one bacterial
gene that together lead to the production of
beta-carotene within rice seeds.
NUTRITION NOW BY BROWN,
JUDITH F., 2005
GENETIC MODIFICAION OF
ANIMALS
 as per Nutrition Now said that,
scientist also applied this
biotechnology to animals.
NUTRITION NOW BY BROWN,
JUDITH F., 2005
GENETIC MODIFICAION
OF ANIMALS
 Let say…
 Atlantic salmon that grow to
market weight in 18 rather
than the usual 24-30 months.
NUTRITION NOW BY BROWN,
JUDITH F., 2005
GENETIC MODIFICAION OF
ANIMALS
 Continuation…
 Pigs that produce less smelly
stools and gas
 Cattle with leaner muscle
 Hens that lay more eggs
ACCORDING TO NUTRITION: EVERYDAY
CHOICES, 1ST EDITION BY GROSVENOR, MARY B.
ET AL, 2006

Steps ofhow genetic

engineering works.

Video Presentation…
ACCORDING TO NUTRITION: EVERYDAY CHOICES, 1ST EDITION BY
GROSVENOR, MARY B. ET AL, 2006
BIOTECHNOLOGY CAN ALTER THE QUANTITY, QUALITY, SAFETY
AND SHELF LIFE OF FOOD

The techniques of biotechnology

are used to improve the quantity,
quality, and safety of the food
supply.
By making plants resistant to
herbicides, insects, and other
various plant diseases, it increased
crop yields and reduced damage
done by insects and plant diseases.
ACCORDING TO NUTRITION: EVERYDAY CHOICES, 1ST EDITION BY
GROSVENOR, MARY B. ET AL, 2006
BIOTECHNOLOGY CAN ALTER THE QUANTITY, QUALITY, SAFETY
AND SHELF LIFE OF FOOD

For example:
 Insect resistant corn is produced
by inserting a gene from the
bacterium Bacillus
Thuringiensis that produces a
protein that is toxic to certain
insects but safe for human and
other animals.
ACCORDING TO NUTRITION: EVERYDAY CHOICES, 1ST EDITION BY
GROSVENOR, MARY B. ET AL, 2006
BIOTECHNOLOGY CAN ALTER THE QUANTITY, QUALITY, SAFETY
AND SHELF LIFE OF FOOD

It is also being used to increase

shelf life of fresh fruits and
vegetables and create products
that have greater consumer appeal
such as seedless grapes and
melon, crispier carrots and celery,
and more flavorful tomatoes,
lettuce, peppers, peas, and
potatoes.
GM FOODS: ARE THEY SAFE AND
ACCEPTABLE? FROM NUTRITION: EVERYDAY
CHOICE
Biotechnology has potential risk.
 Biotechnology could introduce
toxins or allergens to food
Safety concerns in terms of
bioengineered foods include the
possibility that an allergen or toxic
may have inadvertently been
introduced into a previously safe
food, or that nutrient content of a
food have been negatively affected.
GM FOODS: ARE THEY SAFE AND
ACCEPTABLE? FROM NUTRITION: EVERYDAY
CHOICE
 For example:
 IfDNA from fish or peanuts – foods that
commonly cause allergic reactions – is
introduced into tomatoes or corn, these
foods that were previously safe could
cause allergic reactions.
 Or if tomatoes, which a good source of
vitamin C, were modified to have no
vitamin C, people who rely on tomatoes
from the vitamin would no longer meet
their needs.
GM FOODS: ARE THEY SAFE AND
ACCEPTABLE? FROM NUTRITION: EVERYDAY
CHOICE
For example:
The antibiotic resistant genes used in
biotechnology may promote the
development of antibiotic-resistant
strains of bacteria. If bacteria that
cause human disease acquire the
antibiotic-resistant traits, then the
effectiveness of antibiotic treatments
will be reduced.
GM FOODS: ARE THEY SAFE AND
ACCEPTABLE? FROM NUTRITION: EVERYDAY
CHOICE
Biotechnology has potential risk.
 Biotechnology could harm the
environment
One of the arguments against the use of
GM crops is that they will harm the
environment by reducing diversity,
Promoting the evolution of pesticide-
resistant insects,
Creating “superweeds” that will
overgrow the agricultural and forest
land.
GM FOODS: ARE THEY SAFE AND
ACCEPTABLE? FROM NUTRITION: EVERYDAY
CHOICE
Diversity is concern because the
ability of populations of organisms
adapt to new conditions, diseases, or
other hazards depends on the
presence of many different species
that provide a diversity of genes.
GM FOODS: ARE THEY SAFE AND
ACCEPTABLE? (FROM NUTRITION: EVERYDAY
CHOICE)
 The evolution of pesticide-resistant is also
concern, of this problem insects that feed
on plants that have been modified to
produce the Bt (Bacillus Thuringiensis)
toxin.
 As more and more of the insect’s food
supply is made up of plants that produce
this pesticide, only insects that carry genes
making them resistant to Bt can survive and
reproduce
 This increases the number of Bt-resistant
and therefore reduces the effectiveness of Bt
as a method of pest control.
GM FOODS: ARE THEY SAFE AND
ACCEPTABLE? (FROM NUTRITION: EVERYDAY
CHOICE)
It also concern
the development of
“superweeds” because it is
hypothesized that traits introduced
into domesticated plant species
might be passed on to wild relatives,
causing them to become fast-growing
weeds.
Superweeds – herbicide-resistant
THANK YOU!!!