Safety assessment of genetically modified food products: An evaluation of developed approaches and methodologies

Genetic modifications of food products are gaining more and more interest, since they represent an effective and promising way to improve a wide range of food characteristics, including production, nutritive value, and shelf life. On the other hand, concern has been raised about the safety aspects of food derived through genetically modified products. Since 1990 continuously evolving guidelines and recommendations aimed at assessing food safety have basically relied on the concept of substantial equivalence. This principle represents a dynamic approach to safety assessment and is strictly linked to other relevant issues, such as allergenicity of genetically modified products. An updated survey of strategies and methodologies generally adopted for the evaluation of safety aspects of genetically modified food products is presented. (C) 1998 Academic Press.