Shunfeng Biotech obtained the country’s first gene editing safety certificate for genetically engineered soybeans with high-oleic acid
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in China has approved the country’s first plant gene editing safety certificate. Shunfeng Bio, a leading domestic gene editing company has obtained the certification during the release of “2023 Agricultural Gene Editing Biosafety Certificate Approval List”. With this China reaffirms its commitment to strengthening biological breeding and safeguarding seed safety.
China has granted approval to produce genetically engineered soybeans with high-oleic acid. This is the country’s first global standard biotechnology project fully supported by the Jinan Science and Technology Bureau, Jinan Finance Bureau, and Jinan High-tech Zone.
Foods processed with high oleic acid oil can effectively reduce the content of trans fatty acids, thereby lowering cholesterol, lowering blood lipids and preventing cardiovascular diseases. Following the certification approval for gene-editing in plant breeding, Shunfeng Biotechnology has increased the oleic acid content of ordinary soybeans by 4 times, up to more than 80%. This soybean product is labeled “nutrition and health”, “high cost performance”, and “high added value”.
The approval of the high oleic soybean safety certificate has greatly accelerated the industrialization process of Shunfeng Biology. In addition to soybeans, Shunfeng Biology has systematically deployed four major product R&D pipelines around gene editing technology, high-yield rice, wheat, corn, herbicide-resistant rice and soybeans, high straight/amylopectin corn suitable for industrial processing, Rice, high GABA tomato, high vitamin C lettuce and other nutritious and healthy new varieties are ready for commercialization.
In 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued the “Guidelines for the Safety Evaluation of Gene Edited Plants for Agricultural Use (Trial)”, promulgating relevant policies and management measures for agricultural gene editing technology for the first time, and based on the fact that gene editing products do not contain foreign genes Scientific attributes, clearly distinguish gene editing products from the management of genetically modified crops.
In April 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued the “Regulations for the Review of Gene-Edited Plants for Agricultural Use (Trial)”, which further clarified the classification standards of gene-edited plants and simplified the review rules, further enhancing the operability of the Guidelines.
China has built strong platform for gene technology with high-tech enterprises, national intellectual property advantages enterprises, new research and development institutions in Shandong Province, Jinan City Gene Editing Key Laboratory and many other honors; the first batch of gene editing products entered the commercialization stage, and reached a consensus on industrialization promotion with a number of partners.
The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed to speed up the construction of a strong agricultural country, in which improved varieties are the chassis and a necessary means to vigorously promote biological breeding. The issuance of the country’s first safety certification marks that my country’s gene editing has officially entered the fast lane of industrialization.
