Can GM Food Make Your Body Immune to Antibiotics?

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Monday, 29 July 2002

Eating GM food can change the genetic make-up of your digestive system and could put you at risk of infections that are resistant to antibiotics, according to experts.

A British study has revealed that volunteers who ate one meal containing genetically modified soya had traces of the modified DNA in bacteria in their small intestines.

Scientists now fear that GM foods, which are often modified to be resistant to antibiotics, will leave Britons vulnerable to untreatable diseases. The research contradicts repeated claims by the GM industry that gene transfer from foods to humans is extremely unlikely. It also raises the possibility that millions of people may already have GM bacteria from food they have eaten.

The study, carried out at the University of Newcastle, consisted of feeding seven volunteers GM soya. Researchers found that three of them had evidence of DNA gene transfer in the bacteria that occurs naturally in their digestive systems. This is the first time this transfer has been identified in humans.
Source: Sean Poulter Daily Mail 17 July 02
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