Scientists have hailed the success of Europe’s first field trial of wheat which has been gene edited to remove a cancer-causing chemical.

Rothamsted Research used Crispr/Cas9 gene-editing technology to create Cadenza wheat plants with a lower level of the naturally occurring amino acid asparagine in their grains.

Once ground into flour and baked or toasted, asparagine converts into acrylamide, a chemical that has been linked to cancer.

See also: How growers could benefit from pioneering gene-edited wheat

But testing found that levels of asparagine in the gene-edited wheat were up to 50% lower than the control variety.

And once flour from the gene-edited wheat varieties was cooked, the amount of acrylamide formed was also significantly reduced, by up to 45%.

The full results are published in the latest Plant Biotechnology Journal.

Prof Nigel Halford, who led the research, said: “The study showed that gene editing to reduce asparagine concentration in the wheat grain works just as well in the field as under glass.

“This is important because the availability of low-acrylamide wheat could enable food businesses to comply with evolving regulations on the presence of acrylamide in food without costly changes to production lines or reductions in product quality.

“It could also have a significant effect on dietary acrylamide intake for consumers.” 

The breakthrough comes as the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill, which will make provision for gene-edited crops to be developed and grown in England, is in the final stages of passing through parliament.

A second trial of wheat that has been developed to potentially produce even lower levels of acrylamide is now in the ground.

Rothamsted researchers say breeders could create strains of gene-edited wheat to be grown commercially within the next five to 10 years.