Unilever, a big company that produces ice-cream has applied to the Food Standards Agency for permission to use the protein extracted from the blood of a North Atlantic fish for
low-fat ice-cream.
The protein was obtained through a genetically modified process from the blood of a North Atlantic fish that resembles an eel. The ice-cream company claims that this will cut the fat from the ice-cream and people will be able to enjoy eating as much ice-cream as they like without being worried about the calories.
The protein is used by the fish in order to survive the extreme low temperatures at the bottom of the ocean.
The chemically synthesized protein will be further produced in large vats and will take the form of a brownish liquid. This liquid lowers the temperature at which ice crystals form and take shape. It will be added into the ice-cream's content and will prevent using too much fat or cream in the final product.
Nevertheless, the health campaigners are totally against this innovative food processing action, invoking 2 main reasons.
The first one would be that the genetically modifying process will certainly leave traces of the genes in the final product - exactly like in the case of using vegetarian rennet in cheese. On the other hand, the companies claim that it is not the case for this, as the final product will be free of any yeast.
The second reason for fighting the new genetically modified ice-cream is that in a world where obesity levels get higher every day, healthy and natural foods should be consumed and not chemically processed ones.
Supporting the idea, Jane Landon, deputy chief executive of the National Heart Forum, stated: "There is a clear danger that by offering low-fat versions of standard products such as ice-cream it might suggest you can eat as much as you like. We are rather skeptical."
Also, Clare Oxborrow of Friends of the Earth Association argued: "Multinational food companies should make better use of their research budgets to produce healthy, natural and nutritious foods that people really want to eat."
