Mol. Nutr. Food Res. 2007, 51, 1063 MNF Books 1063

MNF Books

in the test tube, and the power to return based on more than twelve-hundred altered genes to the organism to test citations. The application of recombi- their function have revolutionized the nant technology to food engineering, way genetics is done in higher organ- the legal implications resulting from isms”; “There is no field of experimen- such manipulations and the detection tal biology that is untouched by the methods to enforce the legal require- power we now have to isolate, analyze, ments are covered by this textbook. In and manipulate genes”. It was quite particular, part I presents applications obvious that these technologies have and perspectives of genetic engineering the potential to be used for food or feed in terms of using bacteria, fungi, plants production and that genetic engineer- or animals as food or as tools for the ing might replace classical breeding production of food additives or in food technologies in the future. The Flavr fermentation processes. The second Savr tomato, a GMO with delayed cell chapter, written by Rudolf Streinz and wall softening during fruit ripening, Jan Kalbheim, provides a thorough was the first commercially grown insight into the legal situation for genetically engineered food to be genetically engineered food in Europe. granted a license for human consump- The third part of the book describes tion by the U.S. Food and Drug Admin- methods used for the detection of Genetically Engineered Food istration in the early 1990s. – Methods and Detection genetic modifications. After a general The development of recombinant DNA introduction to DNA-based detection Second, Revised and Enlarged Edition technology and its application for food methods, the reader gets insight into Knut J. Heller (Editor) and feed production demands regula- methods of detection of transgenic fish, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2006, pp. 299 tion by legislative authorities. In the genetically modified crops and geneti- ISBN-13: 978–3–527–31393–8 European Union, this has been done cally modified organisms in composite recently by “Regulation (EC) No 1829/ and processed foods. Part of the third The food we are eating today is not 2003 on genetically modified food and chapter is also a contribution dealing what people ate as recently as 15 years feed” which replaced the former regu- with the potential of altering the ago. Novel developments in the food lation concerning novel foods and genetic background of Lactococcus industry, like the application of geneti- novel food ingredients. In order to put lactis by classical techniques and by cally modified organisms (GMO) the legislature into practice, methods recombinant technology and methods either in food or feed or as technical for the quantitative identification of for detection of such manipulations. ingredients became more and more very low concentrations of GMOs or Most of the articles have a straightfor- important over the last decade. Recom- genetically engineered ingredients by ward organization giving a short intro- binant modification of an organism regulatory authorities have been devel- duction and an overview of the field employs modern molecular biological oped. PCR, the outstanding idea revo- and ending with a conclusion or an out- techniques. The first description of a lutionizing and overlapping all fields look. The illustrations and the tables fit recombinant DNA molecule was pub- working with genetic information, is well to the text and a list of publications lished around thirty years ago by Cohen considered as the state of the art rounds off the individual articles. and colleagues. This work served as the method to achieve rapid, sensitive and starting point for subsequent efforts in specific results in the detection and In my view, this book is well suited for the development of advanced powerful identification of GMOs in foodstuffs, updating knowledge on genetically molecular biology tools. In 1983, the additives, and processing aids. engineered food. Its format and presen- pioneering work of Kary Mullis and tation are excellent and it is an essential Twenty six authors contributed to the colleagues, in particular, the develop- reading for all scientists and advanced book at hand, which has been edited by ment of the polymerase chain reaction students who are concerned with DNA- Knut J. Heller, and the editor has gath- (PCR) has opened hitherto unknown based food engineering. ered well-known specialists in their possibilities in genetics. As James D. respective fields to cover all aspects of Watson said in his book Recombinant Prof. Dr. Markus Fischer DNA-based food engineering. DNA (1991) “The ability to isolate Institute of Biochemistry and Food genes as molecular clones, the develop- The book has a clear structure divided Chemistry ment of tools to modify gene sequences into three parts with thirteen articles University of Hamburg, Germany

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