Mead Johnson claims that the DHA and AA are not genetically engineered. I
thought that you'all might want to see a small paragraph from patent #
5397591 called "Infant formula and baby food containing docosahexaenoic acid
obtained from dinoflagellates," by Martek Biosciences Corporation filed in
1992. In 1998 the National Science Foundation awarded them a grant ($1
million) to develop technology for the genetic transformation of microalgae.
http://www.martekbio.com/980309.html
So I guess we should believe that this company that is listed on the stock
exchange as a biotech company is not cloning this organism. I guess its like
buying ocean property in Nebraska. We live in an amusing world...(Note that
this patent says 'wild-type and recombinant microoganisms are part of their
invention-recombinant microorganisms mean genetic engineering-cloning)
Valerie W. McClain, IBCLC
http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html
"Any microorganisms capable of producing a single-cell edible oil containing
DHA can be used in the present invention. For example, photosynthetic diatoms
can be used. Preferred microorganisms are marine dinoflagellates, including
Crypthecodinium sp. Especially preferred is Crypthecodinium cohnii, an
obligate heterotroph requiring a reduced carbon source for growth. C. cohnii
is preferred because it contains a fatty acid profile in which DHA is the
only PUFA present in sufficient quantities (greater than about 1% of the
total amount of PUFAs). Samples of this organism, designated MK8840, have
been deposited with the American Type Culture Collection at Rockville, Md.,
and assigned accession number 40750. As used herein, microorganism, or any
specific type of microorganism, includes wild strains, mutants or recombinant
types. Any microorganism which produces enhanced levels of oil containing DHA
is considered to be within the scope of this invention. One of the features
of the present invention is its recognition of the edible oil-producing
capability of microorganisms such as dinoflagellates and the attendant
solution to the problem of maintaining a reliable, economic source of such
oils. Accordingly, wild-type and recombinant microorganisms designed to
produce single cell oil containing DHA are an aspect of this invention. Such
recombinant organisms would include those designed to produce greater
quantities of DHA in the single cell oil, greater quantities of total oil, or
both, as compared to the quantities produced by the same wild type
microorganism, when provided with the same substrates. Also included would be
microorganisms designed to efficiently use more cost-effective substrates
while producing the same amount of single cell oil containing DHA as the
comparable wild-type microorganism."
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