Within the European Union (EU), the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food production is not widely applied and accepted. In contrast to the United States of America, the current EU legislation limits the introduction of functional foods derived from GMOs that may bring a clear benefit to the consumer. Genetically modified lactic acid bacteria (GM-LAB) can be considered as a diffe...

The in vivo roles of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and granulocyte (G)-CSF were studied in factor-deficient gene-targeted knockout mice infected with the facultative intracellular bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. Previous results showed that G-CSF-/- mice had an underlying selective deficiency in granulopoiesis, but GM-CSF-/- mice had little disturbance in resting h...

An increasing set of evidence has been reported on how consumers could potentially react to the introduction of genetically modified food. Studies typically contain some empirical evidence and some theoretical explanations of the data, however, to date limited effort has been posed on systematically reviewing the existing evidence and its implications for policy. This paper contributes to the l...

BACKGROUND To date, over 150 genetically modified (GM) crops are widely cultivated. To comply with regulations developed for genetically modified organisms (GMOs), including labeling policies, many detection methods for GMO identification and quantification have been developed. RESULTS To detect the entrance and exit of unauthorized GM crop events in China, we developed a novel quadruplex rea...

The Japanese government introduced a labeling system for genetically modified (GM) foods. To ensure the authenticity of the labeling system, we have developed and validated detection methods for newly approved GM events. One was the development of quantitative analytical methods utilizing plasmid DNAs as calibrators, which enabled us to obtain an unlimited supply of calibrators of consistent qu...

As new biotechnologies are developed, the parallels with GM crops are often drawn. In this paper, I consider GM animals and contrast them with GM crops. I use a systems of innovation perspective to consider innovation, product markets and regulatory systems and suggest that whilst there are some parallels between GM crops and animals there are also clear differences. There are differences in th...

To label or not? That was on the California ballot during last year's US elections, owing to a push from food safety advocates to have genetically modified food advertised as such, as has been standard in Europe for years. Those lined up in favor of the food labeling initiative argued that the consumer has a right to know what they're eating. But in a counterattack , a coalition of agribusiness...

Parliament has finally given approval to the commercial growing of genetically modified (GM) crops across the continent. The vote last month backs a new directive that will end a virtual three-year moratorium on granting licenses for the commercial development of GM foods. The standstill followed concerns about the impact of the new crops on the environment. " This is a significant step in term...

Although unprecedented and perhaps unique in its irrationality, the recent furore over genetically modified (GM) food holds extremely important lessons for scientists. Some sections of the media undoubtedly bear a heavy responsibility for giving the expression 'GM' threatening connotations that are quite unwarranted. However, influential contributions to the hysteria have come from a surprising...