Is Modified Maize Starch GM food?

[titan]

Is it that obvious, is it?

I really want to avoid GM food. Is it legal now?

Just thought I would ask here as there are a lot of informed people on this board.

[psych641]

AFAIK its starch derived from maize corn, thats been 'modified' somehow. I suppose the original crop might be GM, chem or even 'organic' (very unlikely!).

So id guess theres might be a high probability the maize was GM, depending on where it was produced, but its not GM by definition.

However, MMS is contaminated with processed free glutamate/MSG (maybe on purpose?) so your best off avoiding it anyway imo.

[titan]

thanks, :(

that stuff is everywhere.....modified corn flour too


I really thougth we weren't doing the GM thing yet (well officially anyway)

so there you have it


wankers.

[eyepod]

Corn / Maize is probably the biggest GM crop on the planet. GM maize was first approved for the EU in 1997 with Spain becoming the first and biggest producer. Production also takes place in France, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Portugal. Maize production in Europe is largely used as animal feed.

Food and feed that is made from GM maize must be labelled.

Whatever way you look at it, I doubt it's been "modified" for your health benefits :cool:

[eyepod]

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/France_bars_strain_of_genetically_m_01112008.html


France decided Friday to invoke an EU safeguard procedure to bar a strain of genetically-modified corn after a watchdog said it had doubts about the product, the prime minister's office said.


The government was invoking the procedure "until European authorities re-evaluate the authorisation on commercialisation" of the product, the prime minister's office said in a statement.


It had decided to act on the "principle of precaution" after the watchdog authority's findings, which have been controversial even among scientists who were involved in the authority's report, it added.


The government also announced it was investing 45 million euros (66 million dollars) in vegetable biotechnology, an eight-fold increase over the current budget.


US agricultural giant Monsanto, which produces the strain, has 15 days to present its defence.


French anti-globalisation activist Jose Bove -- who has been convicted of ripping up GM crops in southern France -- had launched a hunger strike last week to press for a year-long ban on genetically modified crops.


After France's decision on Friday, he said he would stop his hunger strike.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Thursday he was working with Prime Minister Francois Fillon towards a decision on suspending the Monsanto 810 maize.


France's Provisional High Authority on GM Organisms said Wednesday it had "serious doubts" as to the safety of Mon 810, the only GM crop grown in France.


It pointed to what it described as "a certain number of new scientific facts relating to a negative impact on flora and fauna."


Chairman Jean-Francois Le Grand, who also holds a seat in the Senate, said evidence had emerged that Mon 810 had an effect on insects, a species of earthworm and micro-organisms.


There was also concern that wind-borne pollen from Mon 810 could travel much further than previously thought -- perhaps as much as hundreds of miles (kilometres), said Le Grand.


In a surprise development however, 12 of the 15 scientists who compiled the authority's report issued a statement Thursday complaining that Le Grand had misrepresented their findings.


They said their initial report had not used the words "serious doubts" or "negative" concerning the latest evidence on GM crops.


They also complained they had not been allowed time to carry out a "fuller expertise" of Mon 810.


GM crops are a fiercely contested question in Europe, pitting agribusiness corporations against a powerful green lobby.


On its website, Monsanto Co. says Mon 810 was rigorously assessed for safety by authorities before being put on the market in 1997, and extensively studied by independent scientific experts.


Under European Union laws, a member state can invoke a safeguard clause, enabling it to bar a GM crop that has otherwise been given EU-wide authorisation, provided it has scientific evidence to back this decision. Six other EU members have already invoked this clause.


The maize, marketed as YieldGard, has been engineered to produce a naturally-occurring toxin, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), that kills a pest called the corn borer.


That saves farmers money they would otherwise have spent on spraying insecticides.

[titan]

Hi eyepod, I consider it a manipulation of my DNA

Thanks for the info!

[alexc]

Is it that obvious, is it?

I really want to avoid GM food. Is it legal now?

Just thought I would ask here as there are a lot of informed people on this board.

Yes, it is GM food.

[policestate]

bit old, i know, but rather than create a new post...

I was disturbed to find this in strawberry treat desert (creamy) AND a cheese and bean micro meal.

never mix your food and desert, don't sit with me.

[apollo_gnomon]

Modified corn starch (maize starch) is not "modified corn" made into starch, it's corn starch that's been modified. By "modified" they mean it's been processed in some way to way to change it's response to various cooking methods:

Starches may be modified to increase their stability against excessive heat, acid, shear, time, cooling, or freezing; to change their texture; to decrease or increase their viscosity; to lengthen or shorten gelatinization time; or to increase their visco-stability.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modified_starch

This can be done with a bunch of methods, including treatment with enzymes, acids and ions. The starch isn't really nutritionally significant, as it's a minor ingredient used as a thickener.

No guarantee that it's made with Non-GMO corn(maize), but "modified" doesn't mean specifically that it IS made with GMO corn.

never mix your food and desert, don't sit with me.
Hence the gas mask? :)

[policestate]

Yeah i thought it was a thickener, but i think i have seen it in Wotsits too ?

Yup! lol now changing my diet, thus the mask is protecting me from the crap

[alexc]

Is it that obvious, is it?

I really want to avoid GM food. Is it legal now?

Just thought I would ask here as there are a lot of informed people on this board.

There are no laws requiring GM food to be labeled as such or even tracked. This means there is NO WAY TO KNOW if the food you're eating if frankenfood or not.

[robbyblade]

Honestly, it doesn't matter if it is genetically modified or not. You should not be ingesting maize starch at all. It's not human food.