Biotechnologie alimentaire (document en anglais)

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Food biotechnology is a branch of food science in which modern biotechnological techniques are applied to improve food production

A Genetically Modified Food is an aliment issued of a genetically modified organism (GMO) thanks to the method of genetic engineering.

A GMO is a living organism, that has been modified by a human intervention.

The food concerned by these changements is vegetables(carrots, lettuce,...) , fruits (tomato, apple, banana, papaya,...) , milled soy and milled corn, canola and cotton seed oil. These have been engineered for resistance to pathogens and herbicides and better nutrient profiles.

Commercial sale of genetically modified crops began in 1994, when Calgene first marketed its Flavr Savr delayed ripening tomato.

In the future, maybe scientists will be able to create new aliments by a genetical modification instead of just modify them.

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The use of food biotechnology dates back to thousands of years ago to the time of the Sumerians and Babylonians. These groups of people used yeast to make fermented beverages such as beer

Further advancement in food biotechnology occurred with the invention of the microscope by Anton Van Leeuwenhoek, which allowed humans to discover microorganisms that would be used in food production. Food biotechnology was advanced in 1871 whe Louis Pasteur discovered that heating juices to a certain temperature would kill off bad bacteria, affecting wine and fermentation. This process was applied to milk processing, heating milk to a certain temperature to improve food hygiene.

Food science and food biotechnology progressed to include the discovery of enzymes and their role in fermentation and digestion of foods. This discovery enabled further technological development of enzymes. Typical industrial enzymes used plant and animal extracts, but they were later substituted by microbial enzymes. An example is the use of chymosin in the production of cheese. Cheese had typically been made using the enzyme rennet extracted from cows' stomach lining.

Food enzyme production using microbial enzymes was the first application of Genetically modified organisms in food production. Food biotechnology has grown to include cloning of plants and animals, as well as further development in genetically modified foods in recent years.

Scientists discovered in 1946 that DNA can transfer between organisms.

The first genetically modified plant was produced in 1983, using an antibiotic-resistant tobacco plant. In 1994, the transgenic Flavr Savr tomato was approved by the FDA (food and drug administration) for marketing in the US.

 In 2000, with the creation of golden rice, scientists genetically modified food to increase its nutrient value for the first time. As of 2011, the U.S. leads a list of multiple countries in the production of GM crops, and 25 GM crops had received regulatory approval to be grown commercially. As of 2013, roughly 85% of corn, 91% of soybeans, and 88% of cotton produced in the United States are genetically modified.

In the future, beyond food, science will be able to develop

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