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A new genetically modified yeast variety designed for use in wine production
has been found to behave similarly to the parent commercial yeast strains
during fermentation, according to its manufacturer First Venture
Technologies, February 2007 by Lorraine Heller.

The biotech firm yesterday announced that preliminary findings from a
number of separate fermentation trials during the 2006 fall harvest were in
line with the company's internal testing.

First Venture Technologies' propriety yeast claims to be able to reduce
levels of the carcinogen ethyl carbamate, a compound that can naturally
occur in fermented foods and beverages, such as wine, beer and bread. The
firm says its yeast can reduce levels of the substance in red wine by up to
89 percent, and in bread by up to 54 percent.

"No significant differences were detected between the urea-degrading strains
and their parent strains for the enological parameters that were evaluated,"
said Dr Linda Bisson of the University of California, Davis, who was among
the group of experts evaluating the yeast's performance.

"We found no issues with the fermentations or the wines made from these new
yeasts to indicate any significant impact under commercial conditions," she
added.

Also known as urethane, ethyl carbamate, is formed during fermentation,
distillation or storage, and can be present in widely consumed foods such as
wine, distilled spirits, bread, yogurt and soy products.

For example, in wine production, yeast is used in a fermentation process to
convert grape juice into wine, explains the company. Arginine, one of the
most abundance amino acids in grape juice, is taken up by yeast as a
nutrient and metabolized to produce urea. Urea then accumulates in the yeast
cell until it reaches a critical concentration, at which point it is
released into the wine. Urea spontaneously reacts with the alcohol in the
wine to form ethyl carbamate. The chemical reaction between urea and ethanol
is exponentially accelerated at elevated temperatures.

In October, Environment Canada approved the import and manufacture of First
Venture Technologies' yeast variety. The agency's endorsement of the
environmental safety of the yeast follows the Generally Regarded As Safe
(GRAS) status received from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in
January 2006. The company said it hopes the new approval will greatly assist
its marketing efforts.

First Venture Technologies is currently commercializing its platform yeast
technology, which it has exclusively licensed from the University of British
Columbia (UBC), and is developing the technology in partnership with UBC's
Wine Research Centre.

According to Andy Starr, the firm's director of marketing and business
development, the primary purpose of the recent trials was to put the yeasts
through numerous and varying enological and viticultural scenarios that
commercial winemakers deal with everyday.

"We are pleased that it appears the yeasts produce wines with similar
sensory and fermentation process characteristics. These results demonstrate
that winemakers can confidently use the yeasts in full-scale wine
production. Knowing that the yeasts have no undesirable effect on wine
quality, First Venture can develop usage protocols to provide the 'best
practices use' of the yeasts under key commercial criteria," he said.

First Venture Technologies claims the use of its yeast variety is currently
the most economically-viable solution to reduce or eliminate ethyl carbamate
levels in wine and fortified spirits.

According to the firm, international monitoring of the component has been
going on for 20 years by public health groups such as the FDA, the Liquor
Control Board of Ontario and the World Health Organization (WHO).

A joint Food and Agriculture Organisation and WHO scientific panel last year
concluded that that ethyl carbamate is genotoxic and is a multisite
carcinogen in all animal species tested. The chemical is considered to be a
potential carcinogen in humans.

Europe's Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently called on regulators to send
in any data on levels of ethyl carbamate and cyanides in foods and
beverages. In particular EFSA wants information on alcoholic beverages such
as stone fruit brandies. EFSA plans to use the data in its assessment of the
possible health risks posed by the two classes of chemicals.

If high levels are found, the risk assessment could lead to a regulatory
pressure on food processors to change their techniques to reduce the
chemicals in their products. The same fears about acrylamide and benzene,
both by-products of processing or storage, spurred the industry to look at
ways to change their processes in a bid to reduce the levels of those
chemicals.

An international PCT patent application on this urea-degrading yeast
technology has been filed. In addition, national jurisdictional patent
filings have been made in 22 countries.

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