Daily Post (Liverpool)

A Super-Banana A Day Will Keep The Doctor Away

Painful childhood injections could soon become a thing of the past following the discovery of "vaccinating bananas."

Pioneering sicentist in the North West have discovered bananas can be genetically modified and converted into a puree for children to take as an alternative to having an injection.

And they believe the fruit could eventually contain vaccines for a variety of diseases; ranging from Polio to Small Pox.

Research has also been successful in developing vaccines for the Hepatitiis B virus and these can be placed in potatoes.

Scientist Julia Hey, from Jodrell Bank in Cheshire, believes genetically modified foods such as these have an important role to play in society. But she said there is a definite split in opinion over the benefits of genetically modification.

"People in favour will argue that it is something which has been done for years. Bananas have been cross-bred to produce a seedless banana--the fruit which we have today," she said.

Genetic modifcation involves the required gene being cut out of the product and injected into the new product using a gene gun.

"In tomatoes, the gene which makes fruit firm is taken out and injected into another tomato which may not be as firm," Miss Hey added.

"It is the same principal which is used for potatoes and bananas. It is just a case of identifying a desirable gene which is resistant to something, cutting it away and injecting it into the product which requires it."

But environmental health advisors in Liverpool remain sceptical about the findings.

Dave Jones, environmental health advisor at the food industry forum at John Moores University, is concerned that the situation could develop to such a dregree that people would unknowingly be taking vaccinations in their food.

He said: "I believe that drugs should only be prescribed to the people who require them and this should always be done by a GP.

"I understand the difficulties in getting children to be vaccinated. But it must be remembered that problems could arise if someone goes for an injection when they have already received the required dosage in food. This could obviously lead to over-doses."

Scientists are also looking at tomatoes, carrots and peppers in the hope of producing a vegetable which contains high levels of carotonoid - which helps to prevent cancer and heart disease.

In the USA, research has already succeeded in creating tomatoes which contain more than three times the normal cancer fighting levels. And carotonoid enhanced vegetables could be on our supermarket shelves by 2002.

The work at Jodrell Bank has also focused on the gene used for the production of a natural pesticide found in snowdrops and transferring it to cauliflower.

The study is taking place following research into snowdrops which revealed they can survivie attacks from some of the most devastating pests through the production of lectin, which affects insects by interfering with their digestives systems.