China approves safety of gene-edited soyabean variety

Developed by privately-owned Shandong Shunfeng Biotechnology, the soyabean had two modified genes, significantly raising the level of healthy oleic acid in the plant, the 4 May report said.

According to a document published at the end of April by the country’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the safety certificate was approved for five years from 21 April.

Unlike genetic modification, which introduces foreign genes into a plant, gene editing technology alters existing genes.

Considered to be less risky than genetic modification, gene editing was less regulated in some countries, including China, which published rules on the technology last year, the report said.

Shunfeng claims to be the first company in China seeking to commercialise GE crops, according to the report.

At the time of the report, the company was researching around 20 other GE crops, including higher yield corn, rice and wheat, herbicide-resistant rice and soyabeans, and vitamin C-rich lettuce, Reuters quoted a company representative as saying.

US plant-based technology company Calyxt had also developed a high oleic soyabean, producing a healthy oil that was the first gene-edited food to be approved in the USA in 2019, the report said.

Additional steps are needed before Chinese farmers can plant the gene-edited soyabeans, including approvals of seed varieties, according to the report.

Although China was also promoting genetically-modified (GM) crops – starting large-scale trials of GM corn this year – the commercialisation of GE crops was expected to be faster, due to a simpler regulatory process.

Tags: GM corn, Shandong Shunfeng Biotechnology, modified genes, GE crops, Gene-edited, China, soyabean