This undated photo provided by Revivicor, Inc., a unit of United Therapeutics, shows a genetically modified pig. U.S. regulators have approved a genetically modified pig for food and medical products, making it the second animal to get green light for human consumption, but United Therapeutics, the company behind it, says it is not there. he has imminent plans to sell his meat. . (Revivicor, Inc. via AP)
This undated photo provided by Revivicor, Inc., a unit of United Therapeutics, shows a genetically modified pig. U.S. regulators have approved a genetically modified pig for food and medical products, making it the second animal to get green light for human consumption, but United Therapeutics, the company behind it, says it is not there. he has imminent plans to sell his meat. . (Revivicor, Inc. via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. regulators have approved a genetically modified pig for food and medical products, making it the second such animal to get green light for human consumption. But the company behind it says there are no imminent plans to sell it for meat.
Pig is genetically designed to eliminate the presence of alpha-gal, a type of sugar found in many mammals. Sugar enters many products (including medications, cosmetics, and food) and can cause allergic reactions in some people.
The main goal of the company behind the pig, United Therapeutics Corp., is to develop medical products, such as blood thinners, that do not cause these reactions, said its spokesman Dewey Steadman. Finally, the Maryland-based Silver Spring firm hopes to develop a way to transplant pig organs into people.
Pork, called GalSafe, also has commercial potential as a food, but Steadman said the company does not know when it could reach an agreement with a meat producer to process and sell it. He noted the allergy to meat that treats pork, called alpha-gal syndrome, is still not considered a major problem.
“You know, but you don’t know,” Steadman said.
Health researchers do not fully understand how the allergy develops, but it has been related to bites of certain ticks. In 2009, 24 cases were reported, but the most recent estimates exceed 5,000 cases, according to a report by a working group of the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Symptoms may include hives, itching, cramps, and vomiting. Unlike other food allergies, alpha-gal reactions usually occur several hours after eating beef, pork, or lamb, making diagnosis difficult.
Jaydee Hanson, political director of the Food Safety Center, noted that the meat of genetically modified pigs was not tested on people with allergies.
“You’re offering it as something they can eat, not knowing if it’s treating your allergy,” Hanson said.
The FDA said it did not evaluate the specific food safety of the allergy, as the company’s application did not include data on the prevention of these reactions.
The Center for Food Safety has sued the FDA for the first genetically modified animal approved by the agency for human consumption: salmon designed to grow faster. The group said it is reviewing the agency’s decision on the GalSafe pig released Monday.
Greg Jaffe, of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said FDA approval of the GalSafe pig announced Monday is also worrying because it came with no possibility of public comment.
“No one was warned and suddenly there is an approved animal,” he said.
The company did not reveal exactly how it altered the animal’s DNA. Jaffe said the pig was produced by removing a gene responsible for producing sugar and adding another that serves as a marker for the silenced gene.
Jaffe said he is unaware of any rules on how to label pork from genetically modified pigs to sell it in supermarkets. A representative of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees meat labeling, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Steadman said United Therapeutics pigs would be harder to produce than conventional pork for meat because of the requirements governing how they are preserved and slaughtered. He said there are about 25 GalSafe pigs on an Iowa farm.
In the long run, he said the goal is to combine genetic modification with multiple changes to make their organs acceptable for human transplants. For years, researchers have been studying the idea of transplanting pig organs as a way to eliminate the shortage of donated organs.
Although there are still no plans to sell GalSafe pork, genetically modified salmon could be available in the United States soon. AquaBounty, the company that produces the fish, says it is determining the best time to harvest the salmon, which has been growing in indoor tanks at an Indiana plant.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.