Report on GM corn-derived animal feed likely to be taken up today

After the starch in GM corn is fermented, the remainder is rich in nutrients and can be used as animal feed. 

Amid growing demand for permitting import of animal feed derived out of Genetically Modified (GM) crops, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), the country’s apex biotechnology regulatory body, is expected to take up a report on the guidelines for import of Dried Distillers’ Grains with Solubles (DDGS) derived out of GM corn at its meeting scheduled in New Delhi on Monday.

A sub-committee constituted by the GEAC, headed by Lalitha Gowda, a retired scientist from the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) in Mysuru, has already submitted a report on the guidelines for import of DDGS for livestock and aqua feed.

The GEAC meeting to discuss the report assumes significance in light of the severe scarcity of corn, a key source of animal feed for the burgeoning poultry industry in the country, following the failure of maize crop on account of drought and disease. A number of applications from the poultry industry seeking permission to import GM corn and soyabean are pending.

The sub-committee also included representatives from the agriculture and poultry sectors, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, National Dairy Research Institute, and the Directorate General of Foreign Trade. Though its report has been submitted, it up to the GEAC to a take a decision on permitting import.

The report was submitted along with an elaborate background note on DDGS. Corn that is grown in the United States and many other countries is GM corn, which is also used for producing bio-ethanol. After the starch content in the corn is fermented, the remainder is rich in protein and other nutrients and can be used as animal feed. This byproduct, DDGS, is also used as animal feed in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Dismissing the concerns expressed by anti-GM crusaders over the import of animal feed derived out of GM crops into the country, a food scientist ruled out the possibility of GM food entering the food chain when human beings consume livestock fed on a GM diet. “Any food that we eat gets digested and broken down into very small molecules or building blocks. So when it gets broken down into the building blocks, it cannot reform again. The body cannot absorb Genetically Modified DNA.”