US agrochemicals company Syngenta is seeking regulatory approval for a genetically modified rice strain it says will improve the diet of patients undergoing kidney dialysis.
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The rice strain has been engineered to remove a protein which triggers allergic reactions. It has been designed for the Asian market, where dialysis patients cannot eat the local staple of rice because they suffer intolerance to its high protein content.
Syngenta said it is concentrating on genetically engineered products that have a very clear benefit to consumers.
Michael Pragnell, Syngenta chief executive, believes such crops will force regulators and customers to change the way they look at the GM issue, focusing on the risk-benefit ratio of individual products rather than the technology as a whole.
“It’s a niche market, but it’s a latch-lifter; the regulators either have to become less fastidious or deny benefits to patients,” Pragnell said in an interview with the Financial Times.
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By GlobalData“We are pursuing these markets not because we will make a fortune, but because it will introduce some regulatory tension.”
