EFSA: GM feed does not affect meat

The EFSA research followed a call from the European
Commission after a petition had been lodged to have meat, milk, and eggs from
animals that have been fed genetically modified feed labelled. The commission
wanted to know if transgenes or their products could be incorporated into animal
tissues.

Effect on humans
The study also looked at
whether the DNA from GM foods could also be absorbed by humans. The study said
that for humans the “recombinant DNA did not survive passage through the intact
gastrointestinal tract of healthy human subjects fed GM soya”. The study adds
that the rapid breakdown of DNA and proteins during digestion reduces the chance
of them being absorbed intact into the muscle, milk, or eggs of
animals.

“After ingestion, a rapid degradation into short DNA or peptide
fragments is observed in the gastrointestinal tract or animals and humans,” the
report states. “To date, a large number of experimental studies with livestock
have shown that recombinant DNA fragments or proteins derived from GM plants
have not been detected in tissues, fluids or edible products of farm animals
like broilers, cattle, pigs or quails.”