Science-based tool will assess risk of pharmaceuticals in corn

摘要

No one knows with scientific certainty the likelihood or extent of risks from genetically modified plants not grown for food or feed, such as biopharmaceuticals. With some 35 to 40 plant-made pharmaceuticals and industrial products nearing commercialization, the search for an answer to the risk question is necessary. The answer will be available within a year, according to Manjit Misra, professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering and director of the Seed Science Center at ISU, whose team ofscientists is developing a science-based risk assessment tool that can be used to make public policy decisions about growing biopharmaceutical-producing crops.