There is an urgent need for Irish research institutions to become centrally involved in biotechnology as it applies in farming and the food industry, according to Teagasc's director of research, Dr Jim Roche.
This was important to ensure independent scientific information on biotechnology, including GM foods, he told a national conference on the future direction of biotechnology in the Republic.
It would require an investment of at least £100 million over the next five years from the Government's Technology Foresight Fund of £560 million established under the national plan, he suggested.
It was necessary to evaluate the implications of biotechnology for the consumer, the environment and animal welfare, he added. "Absence of independent scientific facts generated by public food organisations can lead to a vacuum which fuels consumer uncertainty. A balanced approach with the risks and benefits put in perspective is long overdue," Dr Roche told more than 200 delegates at UCD.
If the Irish food industry and consumers were to benefit from a new generation of foods with enhanced taste or health benefit, "a national capacity" in biotechnology was vital, said Dr Paul Ross of Teagasc.
Biotechnology could also provide techniques for greater sensitivity in the rapid detection of pathogens in food and better understanding of how they could be avoided, he said.
Biotechnology was enabling foods to be enriched with vitamins, "bio-active peptides" and health-promoting fatty acids. "It is already being used to produce `functional foods' which contain bacteria with associated health claims ranging from treatment of diarrhoea, lactose intolerance, cancer suppression and reduction of blood cholesterol."
Such "probiotic" foods had obvious potential, but further research was needed. The use of "novel starter cultures" in cheese and yoghurt production and new enzymes were improving food quality and flavour, Dr Ross said. Greater availability of such enzymes meant the food industry could diversify product ranges to a far greater extent.
The Government's commitment to biotechnology and GM food research was most welcome, but converting investment into economic benefits would not happen by magic, warned Dr Jim Ryan of BioResearch Ireland - the national agency commercialising biotechnology. Investment in technology management infrastructure would be crucial to delivering those benefits, he said.
Another challenge facing the science and technology community would be "maintaining and strengthening the Government's belief, set out in the national plan, that the strong link between investment in research and economic development would ultimately benefit Irish agriculture and the agri-food industry."
