We are eating genetically modified food without knowing it

Most of the animal feed samples on the Vietnamese market currently contain genetically modified products (such as corn and soybeans) at a certain rate, according to a recent survey by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Most of them are officially imported through foreign joint ventures, and have not been controlled.

Since August 2005, the Prime Minister has issued a Regulation on biosafety management for genetically modified organisms, products and goods derived from genetically modified organisms. Accordingly, allowing research, production and trading of genetically modified organisms or their products have been issued with a safety certificate, but on the label must clearly state: "Products using gene transfer technology" But up to now, due to the lack of guiding documents, the regulation has not really worked.

Many types of food such as corn and rice have been genetically modified to give superior properties. (Photo: usep.edu) After the above survey, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also stated that it is very likely that some food processed from soybeans, corn, canola . are circulating in the market. The school contains genetically modified products that are not clearly stated outside the label.

It is worth mentioning that until now, our scientists have not yet agreed on the safety of transgenic organisms.

At the GM Food Workshop on September 15 in Hanoi, Associate Professor Tran Dang, Director of the Department of Food Hygiene and Safety, Ministry of Health, said that in our country, transgenic genes are transferred into plants. Newly grown only in laboratory steps and achieved some initial success, but not yet mass production. However, genetically modified crops and products have been imported either officially or informally and have not been managed or publicly announced. Mr. Dang said that besides the basic benefits of transgenic plants, this food - according to many world scientists - has many potential risks of long-term effects on public health, such as the ability to cause allergies. , make antibiotic oily, can create toxins and cause long-term toxicity to the body .

In Vietnam today, three genetically modified crops exist: rice, corn and cotton. In particular, according to Mr. Dang, it is very dangerous that some of the transgenic corn samples mixed with normal maize have created the phenomenon of dominant genes. A number of foreign companies through intermediaries have directly introduced these new corn varieties to farmers and receive all the products. People in South Central and Central Highlands are growing genetically modified cotton spontaneously. Some companies in the Mekong Delta and provinces of Thai Binh, Ha Nam, Nam Dinh and Nghe An have imported genetically modified rice varieties from the border to resell to farmers.

However, Dr. Le Dinh Luong, Chairman of the Department of Genetics, Hanoi National University, affirmed that many international scientific organizations have researched and concluded that using food origin from recombinant DNA (gene transfer) is safe. At present, dozens of domestic laboratories can easily detect genetic modification in food, he said. But assessing the safety of each product is beyond the ability not only for our country but also the most developed country in this technology is the US. Therefore, we can always use the existing food safety control system to assess the safety of genetically modified food.

"In my opinion, the important thing is not to write a little word on the label: this is a product that uses genetically modified technology or has some genetically modified A, B, and C components to capture people. People, who don't know much about this, have to choose for themselves. Scientists need to test its safety before handing it to users, "Luong said.

As for Assoc. Prof. Le Tran Binh, Director of the Institute of Biotechnology, Chairman of the National Genetically Modified Crops Project , argues that there is no reason for us to ignore this opportunity.

"Developing genetically modified foods is like flying a plane, knowing there is a risk that the plane may have an accident, but we can't help but go with only the best preparation to ensure security for the flight, " Mr. Binh said.

According to him, in the short term, our country should apply genetic modification technology on plants not to get food such as forest trees, flowers, industrial plants .

Mr. Binh's opinion is agreed by a majority of scientists.

While the safety of genetically modified products is still unclear, strict management is considered a solution. Mr. Tran Dang said that the Government should issue regulations on food safety and hygiene for transgenic food, building a laboratory of risk analysis of this food. In parallel with the propaganda and education, control of imported genetically modified food, inspection and supervision . However, according to Dr. Le Dinh Luong, "if there is half of the national product, then it is not enough to build the control system that Mr. Dang raised. "

Minh Thuy