IFR reder ut frågetecken kring Superbroccoli-artikel i SvD

I söndags publicerade Svenska Dagbladet SvD artiklar som innehöll en del felaktigheter. IFR, Institute of Food Research, klargör fakta. Klargörandet gäller växtförädlingen som lett fram till Beneforte 'Superbroccoli', glucoraphanin och dess påverkan på människokroppen samt vem som äger patentet för Beneforte. IFRs Andrew Chapples kommenterer återges i sin helhet nedan.  

"Beneforté broccoli was not developed through genetic engineering, but through traditional plant breeding. A Sicilian Brassica variety, naturally high in glucoraphanin, was crossed with a standard broccoli variety, and high-glucoraphanin hybrids were selected from the next generation. This process was then repeated, over many generations and many years. This is the same sort of process that has delivered the vast majority of the varieties of vegetables that we eat today. Perhaps the only difference is that this is the first variety that has been specifically bred in this way to enhance potential health benefits, rather than concentrating on taste, yield, or disease resistance.

Neither Monsanto nor Seminis owns the patent, as stated in the article. It was developed through publicly-funded scientific research led by Professor Richard Mithen, at the John Innes Centre
and later at the Institute of Food Research. These publicly-funded research institutes and scientists licensed Seminis to take their high-glucoraphanin hybrids and refine them into a commercially-acceptable variety, that matches current varieties for customer approval (for example its taste) as well as growers’ needs (such as yield). Seminis was acquired by Monsanto in 2005 after which Monsanto continued the breeding program to develop commercial Beneforte varieties. There is more information on the development of Beneforte here: http://superbroccoli.info/about-beneforte/timeline

We need to work with commercial partners to ensure that the benefits of publicly funded research into the links between food and health can be brought to market and deliver benefits to public health.
This is why the UK government has highlighted Beneforté – it is a clear example of publicly funded fundamental research translating into a new variety to potentially benefit health. This also means that any profits from the sale of Beneforté that come to these institutes can be used to support other efforts to develop other nutritionally enhanced foods, for the public good.

We do take a responsible attitude to ensuring any new varieties are safe, and contrary to the article there have been numerous independent studies showing that glucoraphanin is safe. (For example, this is a Phase I clinical trial, double-blind placebo controlled and using physiologically-relevant dose: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16965241. This clinical study investigated the effect of broccoli sprouts and demonstrated improved cholesterol metabolism and reduction of multiple oxidative biomarkers by the broccoli sprout intake without obvious side effects. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15630296)

This goes beyond the general observation that people have been eating glucoraphanin in standard broccoli for many years, and epidemiological studies have linked people eating these diets with reduced risks of chronic disease. We continue to investigate links between glucoraphanin and health."