They then do a detailed assessment of the new component introduced to the food through biotechnology. Evaluations are carried out by experts in nutrition, molecular biology, chemistry, toxicology and environmental science. In addition to looking at how the food was developed and how its composition and nutritional quality compares to traditional counterpart foods, they also scrutinize what potential the food has for being toxic or causing allergic reactions. If you've ever eaten bread or cheese, or used antibiotics, then you've ingested something that was produced through biotechnology. Yeast is used to make bread rise.
Scientists harness natural processes of biotechnology like fermentation to produce some medicines.
Antibiotics, for example, are manufactured from substances such as bacteria and fungi. For example, it is now possible to breed crops with new characteristics, like resistance to insects, frost or disease, using genetic modification. And some of these new crops may reduce the need for chemicals in agriculture.