Japan poised to declare gene-edited foods safe to eatMarch 21, 2019 - 12:03 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Japanese government seems poised to rule that CRISPR-edited foods are safe to eat, Futurism says. At least, that’s the recommendation made by a panel of scientists who just published a report on how gene-edited foods could safely and responsibly be introduced into the marketplace. Now the final decision rests on the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, according to Science Magazine — a potentially transitional moment in global food systems. “There is little difference between traditional breeding methods and gene editing in terms of safety,” panel chair Hirohito Sone, an endocrinologist at Niigata University, told NHK. The advisory panel concluded that CRISPR-edited foods shouldn’t have to go through any more safety testing than anything else. But that’s only if the scientists who did the gene editing didn’t leave any foreign DNA — genes taken from any other organism — in the final product. Also, the panel recommended that anyone producing or selling gene-edited food would need to make public exactly what genetic alterations they made in order to help ease public skepticism. Japan has struggled with genetically-altered foods in the past, Science reports. When Japan approved the sale of genetically modified foods — which by their very nature contain foreign DNA — the public largely rejected them. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. Aliyev says no need for mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan process Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that Baku and Yerevan do not mediators in the process of normalizing relations. Aram I supports Karekin II’s “patriotic position” Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I has expressed support for the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. |