The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates genetically modified organisms (GMOs) for food safety, has written a letter to manufacturers and developers of new plant varieties who intend to transfer genes for proteins that are food allergens (including allergens from foods identified as major food allergens) into new plant varieties used for food. The FDA cautions these developers to consider the food safety risks posed by such allergens and plan early in development to manage the risks. What the FDA insists on in the letter is in effect nothing less than complete segregation and traceability for any potentially allergenic GM crop. GMWatch

 

 

In 2011 Jim Myers did something no one had done before. The Oregon State University vegetable breeder released the first purple tomato containing the same healthy compound found in blueberries. The Indigo Rose tomato, which took Myers, a professor in the OSU College of Agricultural Sciences, and his team 10 years to develop, took the market — and other breeders — by storm. People liked the tomato's novelty but the benefits from the anthocyanins in the skin were the draw. Interest in anthocyanins, the pigment that turns the tomato fruit purple and contains healthy antioxidants, was peaking with the public. In the last 11 years, Myers has continued to improve his line and has added four other purple tomatoes to the mix. These tomatoes are non-GMO and contrast with Prof Cathie Martin's GM purple tomato, which is planned to be released in the US this year. Phys.org

 

 

Food and agrichemical industry front group International Food Information Council (IFIC) has a new CEO, Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak. She is a former Monsanto staffer, and was Monsanto’s Global Lead for Food, Nutrition and Health Partnerships. Gary Ruskin on Twitter @garyruskin

 

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