McDonald's french fry supplier applies for approval to grow genetically modified potatoes; our country has not yet received an application

According to reports in the U.S. New York Times and the U.K. Guardian, potatoes release acrylamide when fried at high temperatures, which may cause cancer. Unlike other GM crops, Simplot's GM potato does not introduce bacterial or herbicide-resistant DNA; instead it uses RNA interference, combining gene fragments from another potato to suppress certain genes, reducing acrylamide by 50%-75% during frying and making french fries healthier.

This potato can also reduce skin damage caused by collisions during transport. Simplot has already begun preparing to apply for import permits in Canada, Mexico, Japan, and other Asian countries. Ironically, this potato has been named the "Innate potato."

According to Council of Agriculture data, Taiwan's annual potato production is 63,000 tonnes, only one-third of domestic consumption. French fries in fast-food restaurants and potato chips made by processing plants are mostly imported from abroad, because potatoes grown in Taiwan are round and short, while the long-shaped potatoes of temperate zones are more suitable for cutting.

Taiwan, China has not yet received a GM potato application

However, Pan Chih-kuan, head of the Food Division of the Food and Drug Administration under the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said that no application for GM potatoes has been received so far. All GM crops entering Taiwan, China must follow the "Method for Safety Assessment of Genetically Modified Foods," submit written materials, and be evaluated for health risks by the "Genetically Modified Food Review Panel." At the same time, the strains must be tested; only those that are safe may be issued a registration permit for inspection and allowed to be imported. The completeness of the materials determines the speed of review, but the entire process takes about 360 days. As long as a manufacturer submits an application, the Food and Drug Administration will accept it.

Taiwan, China has not yet approved the cultivation of GM crops, but a total of 71 strains are permitted for import: 54 are GM corn, and the remaining 17 are all GM soybeans. Most have been inserted with herbicide-resistant genes, and among them the internationally known pesticide company Monsanto accounts for more than one-third.

Food and Drug Administration promises that GM ingredients used in french fries must be labeled

Previously, the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation only stipulated that packaged foods containing 5% or more GM ingredients must be clearly labeled. After this year's amendment, the rule was extended to loose foods, and the GM ingredient threshold was narrowed to 3%. However, the types of food that must be labeled and the places of sale are to be announced by the Food and Drug Administration. The initial focus is on loose soybean products such as soy milk, tofu, douhua, and dried tofu, to be implemented in 2017.

Simplot is a major McDonald's supplier, and many people are concerned about whether they will unknowingly eat GM french fries in the future. Pan Chih-kuan said that if Simplot obtains a registration permit for inspection, the Food and Drug Administration will also formulate border inspection and labeling methods accordingly. Products made from primary ingredients will certainly be required to be labeled as containing GM ingredients as a priority. That is, if McDonald's uses them, it will in the future have to label in stores that these french fries contain GM ingredients.

In addition to primary processing, the winter vermicelli that Taiwanese people often eat also frequently uses refined potato starch to replace the more expensive mung bean starch. Pan Chih-kuan said that if potato starch contains GM ingredients, it should also be included in the labeling scope in the future, but because its refined components are higher and it contains fewer GM fragments, the announcement order will come later.

Foreign consumers are organizing petitions demanding that McDonald's refuse to use them

Although this GM potato is promoted as healthy, Kuo Hua-jen, a professor in the Department of Agronomy at National Taiwan University, said that the health risk of acrylamide is still uncertain. Internationally, it has only been confirmed that animals develop cancer after eating it, while in humans there is not yet a conclusion. "To trigger another kind of GM risk for something uncertain, is that worthwhile?"

He pointed out that many things release acrylamide when cooked at a high temperature of 120 degrees, including french fries, potato chips, bread, coffee, California plums, dried pears, and so on, but boiled rice and sweet potatoes do not. Therefore, the best way to maintain health is to eat less fried food.

The U.K. Guardian reported that Doug Gurian-Sherman, a senior scientist at the Center for Food Safety in the United States, believes that RNA interference technology still has many unknowns. Although GM potatoes are claimed to reduce acrylamide, they may also simultaneously suppress genes for resistance to pests and diseases, increasing pesticide use. Later, there may be court action seeking to revoke the U.S. approval of GM potatoes.

Kuo Hua-jen said that groups are already organizing petitions demanding that McDonald's refuse to use GM potatoes. Taiwan, China has not yet entered the application stage, and consumers should follow the example of those abroad and pressure McDonald's as early as possible to reject french fries with unclear risks from genetic modification.