Recent developments in the approvals process for genetically modified foodstuffs have caused alarm with two Canterbury University researchers. They outline their concerns.

JACK HEINEMANN writes that plans to introduce a new genetically modified corn to New Zealand are troubling.

[Jack Heinemann is an associate professor at the Centre for Integrated Research in Biosafety at the University of Canterbury. ]

A new kind of genetically modified food may be about to join you at the dinner table.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is considering recommending that the Food Code be changed to include a GM variety of corn called LY038, high lysine corn. This product differs in substantial ways from non-GM corn because it, at the very least, accumulates high levels of an amino acid called lysine, a normal constituent of protein. While the lysine concentration is not above that found in other foods, such as red meat, eggs and cheese, it is about 50 per cent above the normal concentration of lysine found in non-GM corn. And the level of free lysine that not incorporated into protein is 50 times greater than that found in ordinary corn.

It is not the absolute amount of lysine that is concerning here, but the unusually high concentration of lysine in the same place as all the sugars that are found in corn.

Lysine as an amino acid or as a normal component of protein can react with sugars to form what are called advanced glycoxidation end-products (AGEs). Dietary AGEs have been implicated in causing symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, diabetes (and related autoimmunity), kidney disease and with ageing. In Western societies, these diseases are more frequently called epidemics.

While AGE content is a general concern of food safety, doubling the concentration of lysine in the corn we eat should be viewed with particular concern, at least until detrimental AGE effects can be ruled out.

AGE content increases in foods stored for long periods, as well as in cooked or processed foods. For example, infant formula, which often contains corn, also has higher concentrations of AGEs than human or cow milk. AGEs are found at higher concentrations in cereals relative to raw grains, because cereals are produced by a high temperature and pressure process.

High lysine corn in place of non-GM corn well might increase the AGE content of these and other foods.

New studies demonstrate that AGEs may also cause allergic reactions, which are increasingly common health complaints. The incidence of coeliac disease, an allergic reaction to components of wheat, barley, rye and oats, is estimated at 1 in 300. Studies in Australia and New Zealand have confirmed equal or greater rates in local populations; adult prevalence is as high as 1 in 83 in the Christchurch area.

Another danger for coeliac sufferers would develop if they became sensitised to AGEs in high-lysine corn that made them allergic to all corn, effectively removing this important food source from their already limited diets. The special dietary requirements of this large section of the population reaffirm the importance of carefully screening the introduction of new ingredients into the food supply.

While vegetable sources probably contribute the least amount of AGE content in the diet, high-lysine corn has the potential to boost exposure from all foods that have a corn component, including many foods that are heated or processed at high temperatures. Like us, FSANZ believes that high-lysine corn is significantly different from non-GM corn. But it disagrees that a study of AGEs produced when high-lysine corn is cooked is necessary before amending our Food Code for a product that may increase the AGE content in processed foods and infant formula.

International agencies for food safety seem to side with us. The Codex Alimentarius Commission of the UN World Health Organisation and Food and Agriculture Organisation says: "The potential effects of food processing, including home preparation, on foods derived from recombinant- DNA plants should also be considered (in a safety assessment."

But no such study has been requested by FSANZ. Instead, they have accepted a study in which whole raw product was fed to chickens and allude to a secret study using rats. When was the last time you ate raw corn?

On May 3, your opportunity to comment to FSANZ about their recommendation to amend the Food Code ended. If you share our concerns, consider contacting the Minister for Food Safety, Annette King, who has a seat on the ministerial council. They will accept or reject the FSANZ recommendation. For more information on high-lysine corn, visit our website (www.inbi.canterbury.ac.nz).