Keeping in view the increased global trade in foods derived from Genetically Engineered (GE) crops and the ongoing field trials in India, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) came out with new guidelines on safety assessment of GM food that necessitate animal feeding studies along with specific nutritional and toxicological studies.
Putting the onus on the developer for providing scientific data for the safety assessment, the ICMR made it clear that the same should be supplemented from a variety of sources like scientific literature, general technical information, independent scientists, regulatory agencies etc.
The new document of the ICMR provides guidance for the safety assessment of all whole foods, food products and food used as ingredients that are derived from GE plants. The new guidelines make it mandatory on assessment of “possible toxicity”. “Toxicological testing is required for substances of unknown safety that are introduced to the food supply”. The toxicology studies are not considered necessary where the substance has been consumed safely in food. Such studies are however important in cases where the GE plant is processed differently from the donor plant.