IGF-1, Milk and Cancer

Keep up-to-date with the latest IGF-1 research and news. News articles are constantly updated so check back often for the latest information.

Terry Etherton
April 27, 2007 

Excerpt… 

According to an article published in FoodNavigator.com, Unilever, the parent company of Ben & Jerry’s, one of the most visible anti-biotechnology ice cream makers in the United States, has moved closer to gaining approval in Europe to use an ice-structuring protein (ISP) isolated from genetically modified yeast. 

In their Summary, the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes of the United Kingdom Food Standards Committee stated they were satisfied by the evidence provided by Unilever that the range of uses for its ice structuring protein preparation is acceptable, subject to the applicant’s adherence to the proposed specification and the production parameters described above. 

An interesting paradox isn’t it? Ben & Jerry’s attacks the use of rbST in the dairy industry, which is perfectly safe. Yet, their parent company, Unilever is seeking regulatory approval in Europe to use ISP isolated from yeast that have been genetically engineered to produce ISP. 

My view - it is wonderful science. Wonder what the folks at Ben & Jerry’s think? 

Read more about this in the Foodnavigator.com article below. 

Unilever moves closer with GM ice cream protein 

By Jess Halliday 

Foodnavigator.com 

4/10/2007 - Low fat ice cream made using a GM yeast moved closer to being approved for the European market, as the FSA published its draft opinion on Unilever technology under novel foods regulation. 

The consumer goods firm applied to the UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) for novel foods approval to use ice-structuring proteins derived from a fermented genetically modified baker’s yeast last year. 

The draft opinion that the ISP preparation is acceptable subject to proposed parameters, on which the FSA is currently eliciting comments,is a step towards Unilever gaining the go-ahead for Europe. However the agency opines that consumers should be made aware that products made using the ISP, even though the GM yeast cells are removed from the final product. 

ISPs are naturally occurring proteins and peptides found in living organisms such as fish, which protect them from tissue damage in very cold conditions by modifying the size and shape of ice-crystals. 

Unilever found that type III ISPs from the cold water fish ocean pout could be used in ice-cream products to make a large number of very small ice crystals, as opposed to the small number of large crystals produced by conventional freezing techniques. 

This ice-structure enables different kinds of formulations, such as low-fat. 

However since the it would be unsustainable to use proteins directly from the fish, Unilever developed a fermentation process using the GM yeast carrying the synthetic gene encoding for the ISP. 

The European Commission stated in a recent report that ingredients produced by fermentation using GM micro-organisms not present in the final product do not fall under GM food legislation - and therefore do not need to be labelled as GM. 

Although this applies to Unilever’s ISP, the FSA’s Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP) said this was a special case, on the grounds of “the use of a synthetic gene sequence and the presence…of a significant proportion of cellular by-products from the fermentation process such as yeast proteins”. 

Thus, it recommends that consumers should be provided with information indicating that the ingredient is made using a GM yeast - either through information provided on food packaging or “via other easily accessible routes”…. 

Read full blog post and the article published in FoodNavigator.com at Terry Etherton’s blog.

Terry Etherton Blog
April 18, 2007

Excerpt…

There has been more response to the ABC News report on rbST that ran on April 12, 2007. I had posted my initial response to the story in my Blog, “Got Any Idea What’s in Milk?” The focus of that that blog was to point out that the story was slanted and did not present the facts about rbST in an accurate manner!

Mr. Jon Wheeler, a dairy producer from Sunnyside, WA has shared his perspectives about the ABC report on Dairy-L. I believe it presents important issues for the dairy industry to consider and I have posted it (with Mr. Wheeler’s permission).

Dairy-Lers,

If you are not totally enraged by this coverage on ABC……then I am disappointed in this industry. This coverage was pure media hype with no substance, truth or true investigative reporting. Definitely one sided! This type of media display of incompetence needs to be addressed.

Back to disparaging of milk……we as an industry are going to suffer in the long run. Yes, I said we. The conventional producers and the organic milk producers are going to suffer in the long run. As long as we within this industry continue to compete against each other claiming there is good milk and bad milk, we will all lose. We must stand up together and champion the benefits of milk. All Milk! And we will, and win.

We as an industry have to come together and sell milk as milk, and promote milk for its value. rbST is a valuable tool for producers. It is safe. It has been researched and tested many years. Whether you use rbST or not this will affect you and your price of milk. Let us not continue to let activists and the media tear this industry apart….

View clip of the ABC News report broadcast April 12, 2007.

Read the full blog post at Terry Etherton Blog.

Truth About Trade & Technology
Dean Kleckner
April 6, 2007

Excerpt…

The classic horror writer H.P. Lovecraft–think of him as a 1930s version of Stephen King–once wrote: “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.”

Milk cartons exploit this primal sentiment when they carry labels reading “rBST-free.”

Most people don’t even know what rBST is. When ordinary consumers encounter a sticker that mentions rBST, it can trigger their fear of the unknown. Perhaps they should be forgiven if they assume that rBST can turn them into zombies. (Read on …)