Review A literature review on the safety assessment of genetically modified plants José L. Domingo ⁎, Jordi Giné Bordonaba Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, IISPV, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Sant Llorenç 21, 43201 Reus, Catalonia, Spain abstract article info Article history: Received 5 November 2010 Accepted 10 January 2011 Available online 5 February 2011 Keywords: Genetically modified (GM) plants Safety assessment Toxicity Adverse effects Health risks In recent years, there has been a notable concern on the safety of genetically modified (GM) foods/plants, an important and complex area of research, which demands rigorous standards. Diverse groups including consumers and environmental Non Governmental Organizations (NGO) have suggested that all GM foods/ plants should be subjected to long-term animal feeding studies before approval for human consumption. In 2000 and 2006, we reviewed the information published in international scientific journals, noting that the number of references concerning human and animal toxicological/health risks studies on GM foods/plants was very limited. The main goal of the present review was to assess the current state-of-the-art regarding the potential adverse effects/safety assessment of GM plants for human consumption. The number of citations found in databases (PubMed and Scopus) has dramatically increased since 2006. However, new information on products such as potatoes, cucumber, peas or tomatoes, among others was not available. Corn/maize, rice, and soybeans were included in the present review. An equilibrium in the number research groups suggesting, on the basis of their studies, that a number of varieties of GM products (mainly maize and soybeans) are as safe and nutritious as the respective conventional non-GM plant, and those raising still serious concerns, was currently observed. Nevertheless, it should be noted that most of these studies have been conducted by biotechnology companies responsible of commercializing these GM plants. These findings suggest a notable advance in comparison with the lack of studies published in recent years in scientific journals by those companies. All this recent information is herein critically reviewed. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 734 2. Risk assessment of GM plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735 2.1. Corn/maize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735 2.2. Rice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 738 2.3. Soybeans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 738 3. Final remarks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 741 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 741 1. Introduction In recent years, the use and release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has been an issue of intense public concern and, in the case of foods, products containing GMOs or products thereof carry the risk of consumer rejection. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines GMOs as those organisms in which the genetic material has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally (WHO, 2002). As genetically modified (GM) foods are starting to be present in our diet concerns have been expressed regarding GM food safety (Dona and Arvanitoyannis, 2009). Although the WHO declares that the GM products that are currently on the international market have all gone through risk assessment by national authorities, the risk assessment of GM foods in general, and crops in particular for human nutrition and health, has not been systematically performed as indicated in the scientific literature (Domingo, 2007; Magaña- Gómez and de la Barca, 2009). Evaluations for each GM crop or trait have been conducted using different feeding periods, animal models, and parameters. The most common result is that GM and conventional sources induce similar nutritional performance and growth in animals. However, adverse microscopic and molecular effects of some GM foods in different organs or tissues have been reported to a Environment International 37 (2011) 734–742 ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: + 34 977 759 380; fax: + 34 977 759 322. E-mail address: joseluis.domingo@urv.cat (J.L. Domingo). 0160-4120/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2011.01.003 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Environment International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/envint