Bio Technology

We have used biotechnology to manufacture food products for more than 8,000 years. Bread,
alcoholic beverages, vinegar, cheese and yogurt,
and many other foods owe their existence to enzymes found in various microorganisms. Today’s biotechnology will continue to affect the food industry by providing new products, lowering costs and improving the microbial processes
on which food producers have long relied.


Many of these impacts will improve the quality, nutritional value and safety of the crop plants and animal products that are the basis of the food industry. In addition, biotechnology
offers many ways to improve the processing of those raw materials into final products: natural flavors and colors; new production aids, such as enzymes and emulsifiers; improved starter cultures; more waste treatment options; “greener” manufacturing processes; more
options for assessing food safety during the process; and even biodegradable plastic wrap that kills bacteria.

HEALTH AND NUTRITION BENEFIT:

1).A variety of healthier cooking oils derived from biotechnology are already on the market. Using biotechnology, plant scientists have decreased the total amount of saturated fatty acids in certain vegetable oils. They have also increased the conversion of linoleic acid to the fatty acid found mainly in fish that is associated with lowering cholesterol levels.

2).Another nutritional concern related to edible oils is the negative health effects produced when vegetable oils are hydrogenated to increase their heat stability for cooking or
to solidify oils used in making margarine. The hydrogenation Bprocess results in the formation of trans-fatty acids.

3).Biotechnology companies have given soybean oil these same properties, not through hydrogenation, but by using biotechnology to increase the amount of the naturally occurring
fatty acid, stearic acid.

4).Animal scientists are also using biotechnology to create healthier meat products, such as beef with lower fat content and pigs with a higher meat-to-fat ratio.

5).Other health and nutritional benefits of crops improved through biotechnology include increased nutritional value of crops, especially those that are food staples in developing countries. Scientists at Nehru University in New Delhi used a gene found in the South American plant amaranth to increase the protein content of potatoes by 30 percent. These transgenic potatoes also contain large amounts of essential amino acids not found in unmodified potatoes. Other examples include golden rice and canola oil, both of which are high in vitamin A. The golden rice developers further improved rice with two other genes that increase the amount and digestibility of iron.

6).Biotechnology also promises to improve the health benefits of functional foods. Functional foods are foods containing significant levels of biologically active components that impart health benefits beyond our basic needs for sufficient calories, essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Familiar examples of functional foods include compounds in garlic and onions that lower cholesterol and improve the immune response; antioxidants found in
green tea; and the glucosinolates in broccoli and cabbage that stimulate anticancer enzymes.

We are using biotechnology to increase the production of these compounds in functional foods. For example, researchers at Purdue University and the U.S. Department
of Agriculture, created a tomato variety that contains three times as much of the antioxidant lycopene as the unmodified variety. Lycopene consumption is associated with a lower risk of prostate and breast cancer and decreased blood levels of “bad cholesterol.” Other USDA researchers are using biotechnology to increase the amount of ellagic acid, a cancer protective agent, in strawberries.

PRODUCT QUALITY:

We are also using biotechnology to change the characteristics of the raw material inputs so that they are more attractive to consumers and more amenable to processing.

Biotechnology researchers are increasing the shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables; improving the crispness of carrots, peppers and celery; creating seedless varieties of grapes and melons; extending the seasonal geographic availability of tomatoes, strawberries and raspberries; improving the flavor of tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, peas and potatoes; and creating
caffeine-free coffee and tea.

Japanese scientists have now identified the enzyme that produces the chemical that makes us cry when we slice an onion. Knowing the identity of the enzyme is the first step in finding a way to block the gene to create “tearless” onions.

Much of the work on improving how well crops endure food processing involves changing the ratio of water to starch. Potatoes with higher starch content are healthier because they
absorb less oil when they are fried, for example. Another important benefit is that starchier potatoes require less energy to process and therefore cost less to handle. Many tomato
processors now use tomatoes derived from a biotechnology technique, somaclonal variant selection. The new tomatoes, used in soup, ketchup and tomato paste, contain 30 percent
less water and are processed with greater efficiency. A 1⁄2 percent increase in the solid content is worth $35 million to the U.S. processed-tomato industry.

Another food processing sector that will benefit economically from better quality raw materials is the dairy products industry. Scientists in New Zealand have now used biotechnology to increase the amount of the protein casein, which is essential to cheese making, in milk by 13 percent.

Biotechnology also allows the economically viable production of valuable, naturally occurring compounds that cannot be manufactured by other means. For example, commercial-
scale production of the natural and highly marketable sweetener known as fructans has long eluded food-processing engineers. Fructans, which are short chains of the sugar
molecule fructose, taste like sugar but have no calories. Scientists found a gene that converts 90 percent of the sugar found in beets to fructans. Because 40 percent of the transgenic beet dry weight is fructans, this crop can serve as a manufacturing facility for fructans.