Journal of Food Science and Toxicology

Biotechnology has a long history of use in food production and processing. For ten thousand years fermentation, a form of biotechnology, has been used to produce wine, beer and bread. Selective breeding of animals such as horses and dogs has been going on for centuries. Selective breeding of essential foods such as rice, corn and wheat have created thousands of local varieties with improved yield compared to their wild ancestors. Today, through newer biotechnology and genetic engineering, scientists use techniques such as recombinant DNA (rDNA). Scientists, by using rDNA, can move one gene, the inherited instruction for specific traits, from one organism to another and omit the undesirable traits. This enables food producers to obtain animal and crop improvements in a much more precise, controlled and predictable manner. current applications of rDNA have been used to change a trait in its native plant system. For example a tomato to tomato transfer can control softening and ripening of the fruit. Another application is the transfer of modified forms of plant virus genes to plants to create a plant with complete resistance to that virus. It is easy to see how the use of rDNA enables much wider application of natures diversity