GM gene-edited tomatoes to be fed to humans (but no, it's not a food safety study)
By Claire Robinson,
GMWatch
| 09. 29. 2025
Researchers are recruiting vitamin D-deficient subjects to trial the GM tomato.
According to an article on BBC News, the Quadram Institute in Norwich is recruiting 76 people with low vitamin D to take part in the ViTaL-D Study, where some participants will eat soup containing tomatoes that have been genetically engineered via gene editing to contain a vitamin D precursor. When the fruit is placed under ultraviolet light, vitamin D forms.
Pat Thomas from Beyond GM was quoted by BBC News as saying there should be "an abundance of precaution" when it comes to GM foods that people have not eaten before.
While the BBC headlines its article on the GM vitamin D tomato study "Trial uses tomatoes to test impact of gene-edited food on humans" and touts it as probably "the first human trial in the UK", we should be under no illusions. This 21-day study is not a food safety study and it won't "test the impact of a gene-edited food on humans", in the sense of monitoring the health of GM tomato-consuming people over the medium or longer term.
Instead, it will be an efficacy study, where...
Related Articles
By Josie Ensor, The Times | 12.09.2025
A fertility start-up that promises to screen embryos to give would-be parents their “best baby” has come under fire for a “misuse of science”.
Nucleus Genomics describes its mission as “IVF for genetic optimisation”, offering advanced embryo testing that allows...
By Hannah Devlin, The Guardian | 12.06.2025
Couples undergoing IVF in the UK are exploiting an apparent legal loophole to rank their embryos based on genetic predictions of IQ, height and health, the Guardian has learned.
The controversial screening technique, which scores embryos based on their DNA...
By Frankie Fattorini, Pharmaceutical Technology | 12.02.2025
Próspera, a charter city on Roatán island in Honduras, hosts two biotechs working to combat ageing through gene therapy, as the organisation behind the city advertises its “flexible” regulatory jurisdiction to attract more developers.
In 2021, Minicircle set up a...
By Vardit Ravitsky, The Hastings Center | 12.04.2025
Embryo testing is advancing fast—but how far is too far? How and where do we draw the line between preventing disease and selecting for “desirable” traits? What are the ethical implications for parents, children, clinicians, and society at large? These...
