YOU can now eat pigs genetically modified using CRISPR

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the sale of genetically modified pigs in restaurants and supermarkets.

The altered pork, made like German-style sausages, was developed by scientists at Washington State University who used CRISPR to improve the genetics of cattle.

The team used the gene-editing tool to pass elite DNA from one breeder to several others, allowing more males to pass on desirable traits and improving food production.

This process could produce livestock that can thrive in harsh conditions – and still provide enough food for humans.

Jon Oatley, a professor at Washington State University (WSU), led the research and worked closely with the FDA to get approval.

Oatley and his team used CRISPR on five pigs to show that food made from the animals is safe and that an academic institution can obtain this type of FDA authorization.

The two-year-old pigs were processed in the WSU Meat Lab, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture inspected the meat as it does with all meat products.

The team manipulated the pigs to pass on traits from a different male to other pigs.

Known as surrogate bulls, this technology first edits male animals into genes to make them infertile by knocking out a gene called NANOS2 that is specific to male fertility.

These animals can then be implanted with another male’s stem cells, creating sperm with that male’s desirable traits to pass on to the next generation.

Essentially a high-tech form of selective breeding, surrogate boar technology can vastly increase the spread of valuable genetics in livestock.

It has the potential to improve not only meat quality, but also the health and resilience of livestock in the face of changing environmental conditions, a critical goal for increasing protein sources in developing countries.

Oatley and his team used CRISPR on five pigs to show that food made from the animals is safe and that an academic institution can obtain this type of FDA authorization

The team used the gene-editing tool to pass elite DNA from one breeder to several others, allowing more males to pass on desirable traits and improve food production

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Environment Secretary George Eustice insisted that gene-edited products need not be advertised as such because they are ‘fundamentally natural’.

Piglets born from the surrogate bulls are not yet approved for sale, but will be reviewed by the FDA possible entry into the food chain.

Approving the first work took about two years and hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“The original intention in creating these animals was to try and improve the way we feed people,” Oatley said.

“And we can only do that if we can work with the FDA system to actually get these animals into the food chain.”

WSU is the first organization to receive FDA approval for genetically modified pork, but a company called Acceligen got approval for it in 2020 products made from ‘Slick-Haired Cattle’, which have been genetically engineered to have coats that increase the animals’ resilience to higher temperatures.

Oatley said the public often has many misconceptions about gene editing and hopes the WSU example will help dispel misinformation and improve perceptions of this technology.

“There’s a trust that comes with university research,” Oatley said. ‘At WSU everything revolves around science.

‘We just want to make sure that the research is valid and that the animals we produce are healthy.’