Safety assessment of meat from transgenic cattle by 90-day feeding study in rats

• Published in: Food and chemical toxicology Vol. 57; pp. 314 - 321
• Main Authors: Liu, Shan, Li, Chen-Xi, Feng, Xiao-Lian, Wang, Hui-Ling, Liu, Hai-Bo, Zhi, Yuan, Geng, Gui-Ying, Zhao, Jie, Xu, Hai-Bin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.07.2013; Elsevier
• Subjects: 90-Day feeding study; Animal Feed; Animals; Animals, Genetically Modified; Biological and medical sciences; Blood Chemical Analysis; blood chemistry; body weight; Body Weight - drug effects; cattle; Cattle - genetics; dietary supplements; Eating - drug effects; Food Safety; Food, Genetically Modified - toxicity; genetically modified foods; hematology; Human lactoferrin; humans; lactoferrin; Male; Meat; Meat Products - toxicity; Medical sciences; Organ Size - drug effects; Rat; Rats; Rats, Wistar; safety assessment; subchronic toxicity; Toxicity Tests, Subchronic; Toxicology; transgenic animals; Transgenic cattle; Urinalysis; ChE; FDA; AST; PT; Rat; ALP; rhLF; Human lactoferrin; CK; ALT; EFSA; Meat; SCNT; APTT; LDH; 90-Day feeding study; RBC; A/G; WBC; BUN; TP; Transgenic cattle; Human; Toxicity; Rodentia; Oral administration; Transgenic animal; Ox; Milk protein; Vertebrata; Lactoferrin; Mammalia; Livestock; Artiodactyla; Safety; Whey protein; Ungulata; Food
• ISSN: 0278-6915; 1873-6351
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2013.04.003

•We investigated the subchronic toxicity of meat derived from transgenic cattle.•Transgenic cattle meat is similar to the conventional in nutritional composition.•Meat from transgenic cattle is as safe to eat as the conventional for food consumption. The study was carried out to evaluate the subchronic toxicity of meat derived from human lactoferrin gene-modified cattle in male and female Wistar rats. Rats were fed 5% or 10% transgenic meat diet, 5% or 10% conventional meat diet, or AIN93G diet for 90days. During the study, body weight and food consumption were weighed weekly and clinical observations were conducted daily. At the end of the study, urinary examination, hematology and blood biochemistry examination, macroscopic and microscopic examinations were performed. There were no biologically significant differences in these factors between the rat groups fed transgenic meat diet and conventional meat diet. Therefore, the present 90-day rodent feeding study suggests that meat derived from the transgenic cattle is equivalent to meat from conventional cattle in use as dietary supplements.