Would you be happy to eat gene modified food?

Gene-edited tomatoes could be a new source of vitamin D, study suggests

These tomatoes – which look and taste like regular tomatoes – could represent a new dietary source of vitamin D with potential public health implications, scientists say.

Researchers found that tomatoes can be engineered to produce more of a precursor to vitamin D3 when a specific molecule that normally converts this vitamin to cholesterol is blocked.

When exposed to UV light, this precursor – provitamin D3 – can be converted to vitamin D3, the sunshine vitamin that so many people across globe do not have enough of.

Researchers suggest eating just two of the new tomatoes could make up for the gap between how much vitamin D people in the UK are consuming, and how much they need.

The recommended daily intake of vitamin D is 10 micrograms for adults.

They also found that the amounts of provitamin D3 in one tomato – if converted to vitamin D3 – would equal levels present in two medium-sized eggs or 28 grams of tuna.

Data suggests that around one in five adults and one in six children do not have enough vitamin D.

The body creates vitamin D after the skin is exposed to UVB light, but the major source is food.

First author of the study Dr Jie Li said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has helped to highlight the issue of vitamin D insufficiency and its impact on our immune function and general health.

“The provitamin D-enriched tomatoes we have produced offer a much-needed plant-based source of the sunshine vitamin.

“That is great news for people adopting a plant-rich, vegetarian or vegan diet, and for the growing number of people worldwide suffering from the problem of vitamin D insufficiency.”

Researchers suggest the change can be engineered into any tomato variety, and could probably work well in other solanaceous food crops such as peppers, chillies, potatoes and aubergines.

Did you start to take Vitamin D supplements during the Covid-19 outbreak? Are you still taking them now? Would you rather boost your Vitamin D by eating gene-modified food than taking supplements? Perhaps you think that our food should not be messed about in this way?