YOU could soon be eating genetically modified beef thanks to the US Food and Drug Administration.
The FDA claims that two gene-edited breeds of beef cattle produced by a major breeder are safe for human consumption.
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The two breeds of cow in question have been edited so they grow short slick coats.
This change is not thought to be harmful to the meat or the cow.
Experts suggest this genetic modification is “low risk”.
That means Acceligen, the company which produces the breed, doesn’t need to seek approval to sell it.
This is said to be the first time that the FDA has made such an assessment.
The federal agency has never given a “low-risk” premarket approval before to a gene-edited animal food product.
Steven Solomon, director of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, said the decision shows “commitment to using a risk and science-based, data-driven process that focuses on safety to the animals containing intentional genomic alterations and safety to the people who eat the food produced by these animals”.
The FDA expects other companies to be inspired by the assessment and create other safe biotechnology products.
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According to C&EN, Acceligen said: “The SLICK trait, which occurs naturally in certain cattle, will be used to transform beef production to be more sustainable and improve animal welfare in warmer climates.”
That means the cows will be able to survive in hotter weather and this could make looking after them an easier task.
It’s unclear when this type of beef would be made available in the US.
It’s also unclear how the meat would be labelled and whether it would be different to none gene-edited beef products.
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