China has approved the safety of a genetically modified soybean, its first approval of the technology in a crop, as the country increasingly seeks science to boost food production. Soy, developed by private company Shandong Shunfeng Biotechnology Co., Ltd, has two modified genes, significantly raising the healthy fat level of oleic acid in the plant.

The safety certificate was approved for five years from April 21, according to a document released last week by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Unlike genetic modification, which introduces foreign genes into a plant, gene editing alters existing genes. The technology is considered less risky than GMOs and is less regulated in some countries, including China, which published rules on gene editing last year. "The approval of the safety certificate is a stimulus for the Shunfeng team," the company said in a statement to Reuters on Thursday. Shunfeng claims to be the first company in China to seek to commercialize genetically modified crops.

It is currently researching about 20 other genetically modified crops, including higher-yielding rice, wheat and corn, herbicide-resistant rice and soybeans, and vitamin C-rich lettuce, a company representative said. U.S. company Calyxt also developed a high-oleic soybean, producing a healthy oil that was the first gene-edited food to be approved in the U.S. in 2019. Several additional steps are needed before farmers in China can plant the new soybeans, including approvals of seed varieties with the modified genes.

The approval comes as trade tensions, unstable weather and war in Ukraine, a major grain exporter, have heightened concerns in Beijing about feeding the country's 1.4 billion people. A growing middle class is also facing an increase in diet-related diseases.

China is also promoting GM crops, starting large-scale trials of GM corn this year. However, the bringing of gene-edited crops to market is expected to be faster, due to fewer steps in the regulatory process. In addition to the United States, Japan has also approved genetically modified foods, including healthier tomatoes and faster-growing fish.

Source: Agrolink