Genetically modified crops: global status and safety assessment

Genetically modified (GM) crops have a nearly 30- year track record of safe use as food and animal feed globally. Due to low grain self-sufficiency, Korea imports 11 to 12 million tons of GM corn and soybeans annually. For more than 25 years, Korea has conducted rigorous food safety assessments on GM grains to import, maintaining a science-based framework consistent with the ones in other advanced countries as well as Codex guidelines and OECD documents. To date, there have been no confirmed cases of GM grain imports adversely affecting consumer health or domestic environment, which underscores the success of GM crop safety assessment framework. Nevertheless, domestic debate regarding the safety of GM grain persists. To facilitate informed discussion, this article covers development methods, conferred traits, global adoption rate and trade, and international safety guidelines alongside lo- cal regulations for the safety assessment of GM crops.