Mar 17, 2010 | 4:59 am

LL Rice 62

Summary of risk assessment
 

Opinion of the scientific panel on genetically modified organisms (GMO Panel) of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
Adopted 30/10/2007
Conclusion LL62 Rice is as safe as conventional rapeseed, and releasing LL62 for processing and food and feed use is unlikely to have an adverse effect on human or animal health and the environment.

 

Comparative analysis
Basis of comparison LL62 Rice (rough rice and rice straw) was compared with the non-transgenic parental variety Bengal, Cocodrie, Francis and Cherniere
Qualities The quantities and concentrations of several nutritional and compositional parameters were compared, including: fibre compounds, micro-nutrients (minerals, vitamins), amino acids, fatty acids, and anti-nutrients (i.e. phytic acid, trypsin inhibitors, lectins).
No biologically significant differences were measured between LL62 Rice and its conventional counterpart.

 

Safety of food and feed
New proteins
(PAT)		 In vitro studies showed that the transgenic protein PAT is easily degraded in simulated gastric and intestinal fluids containing pepsin.
Allergenicity of the new protein Neither protein came from a source with known
allergenicity, had sequence homology with known allergens, or is stable in simulated gastric and intestinal fluids.

The amino acidsequence of the PAT protein was compared to the sequences of known allergens. No correspondence was reported.

Further studies showed that the overall allergenicity of the whole plant is not changed.

Assessment of food and feed Feeding studies were conducted on broiler chickens and pigs.

Two group of animals were fed diets containing a certain amount of rice kernels, one of the groups LL62 Rice and the other the non-GM comparator. There was no significant difference in feed intake, feed conversion efficiency, weight gain or carcass quality parameters between the two treatment groups.

 

Enviromental safety
Out-crossing The plant to plant gene transfer via cross-pollination from this GM rice is restricted to cultivated conventional rice varieties and weedy rice.

Rice is largely a self pollinating species and intra-specific cross pollination levels are generally low and decline rapidly with distance.

Summary There is a possibility that small numbers of GM rice plants could enter cultivation and cross-pollinate with cultivated or weedy rice. However it is unlikely that spillage will result in feral plants establishing as there is no indication of changes in fitness or behaviour of this GM rice, except in the presence of glufosinate.

The application is for food and feed uses, import and processing. There is therefore no requirement for scientific information on possible environmental effects associated with the cultivation of LL62 Rice.

Field trails Field trials were performed in 1998, 1999, 2005 and 2006 in Canada and the USA to produce material for compositional analysis and also in Brasil and the USA (1999-2001) to get information on agronomic performance and phenotypic characteristics.