Human derived gelatin could replace some of the 300,000 tons of animal derived gelatin used yearly in foodstuffs such as sweets (candies), desserts, a whole plethora of other processed foods, and in medication capsules.
Chinese researchers, publishing their findings in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, suggest an alternative to the gelatin taken from slaughtered livestock (cows, pigs) bones and skin, using human gelatin genes that are genetically spliced into yeast genes. These genetically modified yeasts can make gelatin, and the process can be tuned to create gelatin with differing qualities.
The researchers are currently looking into turning their process into a commercial scale operation. If this is successful then an interesting debate may surround the question of whether or not people will be comfortable with eating something produced from genetically modified, human-derived, yeast. The only problem will be that it would be impossible to distinguish when you are eating animal or human derived gelatin.
Via Science Daily
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