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From 2012.igem.org

During our project discussions and our presentations, it became clear that the association of meat and bacteria being close to each other, is not easily accepted by the public. That’s why decided to take extra care when we designed our indication sticker, to be absolutely sure there is no possibility that our Bacillus or its spores are able to come in the environment or on the preserved meat, possibly endangering the public and environment.

We consulted specialized companies to participate and contribute in our project using their knowledge of materials. A good idea for preventing introduction of GMO’s into the environment, is the use of nano pores. The material for this “sticker” is TPX® Polymethylpentene, a strong polymer that is will ensure no bacteria will not come in contact with the meat, but still allows the volatiles to reach the bacteria. This material is approved by FDA-standards and EU-food-standards.

But not only the sticker design ensures the safety of the public, also the nutrient composition in the sticker ensures Bacillus will only germinate and grow when the sticker is still intact. Even if our Bacillus is exposed to an environment that is favorable for growth the genetic modified insert is not harmful for human, animal or environment. Further the strain we will use in our final product is considered a food-grade strain. More on the safety aspect of the GMO is found in the environmental safety page.
With proper use of the food warden system none of the B. subtilis cells are released. So there is no danger for the public.

Public perception

For a better perception of the public view on our project we asked the science shop of our university for advice. The University of Groningen actively seeks cooperation with citizens, governments and business. The goal is to deploy academic expertise for the benefit of nonprofit groups and organizations which represent a public interest and to contribute to practice based education, social engagement and the acquisition of communication skills by students. Five different science shops are linked to the RUG, one for each of the major faculties. All cover a different aspect of science namely: Beta, culture, language & communication, business and economy, Education, medicine and healthcare. We chose to contact the beta science shop as they cover the field of life science.

They advised us that if we want to make to Food Warden a product for the public we needed to make a good development plan. A well thought through development is important for our perception toward the public. This plan starts with the consumer. GMOs are not easily accepted by the public, so we need to show that our product is safe and beneficial for the society.

We plan to make a marketing section on our wiki page in which we will ask the public to give us their opinion about the Food Warden. The plan will provide insight into the question about acceptance of GMOs for household use, the desirability of the Food Warden system and the effect of such a product on prevention of food spoilage.

We believe that our product has an ethical basis to stand on: The prevention of food spoilage. With the use of Synthetic Biology we provide an innovative way to prevent the waste of food. We also want help change the public opinion on GMO and show that this field of science can be beneficial for society. In times of rising food cost and famine we hope that we can make a small contribution in the effort to solve these problems worldwide. The also advised us to contact the voedsel en waren authoriteit of the Dutch government, we did but have not yet gotten a response.