Has the food industry crossed the red line? This is what some Internet users on social networks seem to declare by warning about the presence of human fetal cells in our food.
Nestlé, PepsiCo, Tropicana… Brands are directly cited. Going back to the rumor, we find a discussion thread published by a twittos on July 11. According to him, an American company, Senomyx, would produce flavor enhancers (substances intended to increase the intensity of the olfactory-gustatory perception of a foodstuff) for these brands “based on kidney cells (but not only) of aborted fetuses.
The Internet user even claims that the FDA (the Food and Drugs Administration, the American administration of foodstuffs and drugs) would be involved in a vast black market of fetuses in the world, and goes so far as to draw up a list of organ prices. by organ. The accuser thus multiplies the “evidence”, to the point of sharing a hidden camera video of a former medical director of the American Family Planning in the process of operating a sale of organs during an appointment in a restaurant.
A most convincing argument on the cannibalistic practices of an industry ready for anything. But none of this is true.
FAKE OFF
The use of cells, tissues and organs from aborted fetuses has been the subject of a large number of fantasies in the United States, fueled by anti-abortion associations for several years. At the heart of this rumor about the food industry, therefore, we find the American biotechnology company Senomyx.
In 2002, employees of the company published, in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America, an article about how the taste receptors in the mouth work and how they transmit information to the brain. The researchers declare that they have launched experiments with cells of the HEK-293T type. Cells from an aborted fetus, yes, but not directly.
Cells reproduced and used in biomedical research
This is a line fetal cells. It is obtained by taking a cell from a fetus, here aborted and with the agreement of the parents, then by multiplying it into several identical cells. These are then cultivated and reproduced for years, even decades, for the purpose of scientific research. All cells of the HEK-293 type come from a fetus that was aborted in the 1970s in the Netherlands. Cells are therefore not automatically taken from all aborted fetuses, as some Internet users suggest.
This type of cells is regularly used for scientific and pharmacological research purposes. HEK-293s have, for example, been used by some laboratories in development tests vaccines against Covid-19. On the other hand, there is never any mention, in the research of Senomyx or other scientists, of human cells for the food industry.
So what would the use of fetal cell lines in medical research have to do with what we eat? The link was made opportunistically and without any proof by American associations in 2010 when the company Senomyx, now owned by the Firmenich group, signed a contract with PepsiCo for the development of new flavor enhancers for the benefit of the giant of food. For example, the association “Children of God for Life” called in 2011 for a boycott of PepsiCo products. Resounding rumors to the point that the vice-president of the firm had to split at the time of a press release to disprove links between Senomyx’s research using HEK-293 cells and that involving its products.
PepsiCo denies again
Contacted by 20 minutes, a spokeswoman for the group maintains its position: “There are obviously no human cells or aborted fetuses in PepsiCo products. The flavor enhancers used in the products are those authorized by the EU regulations concerning additives”. Before specifying that, in accordance with the law, as soon as a flavor enhancer is added to a recipe, it is indicated in the list of ingredients. Example with monosodium glutamate, known for its effect “when you eat one, you can’t stop” in peanuts and other savory aperitif cakes.
And the video presented as the ultimate proof of the fetus trade? It has been said, it is in reality a deception. In these images released in 2015 by an anti-abortion organization called the Center for Medical Progress, Medical Director Deborah Nucatola is seen explaining how abortions are induced in a way that protects tissues and organs from fetus and then reuse them. She even mentions certain prices, ranging from 30 to 100 dollars.
This video caused such a scandal in the United States that a Senate commission was charged with investigating the same year. She revealed it was a montage. In the original video, the manager, believing that she is talking to scientific researchers interested in the processes, explains to them the tissue collection process, after approval of the donation by the parents, for cells intended for research. She makes it clear that no profit is made by her structure, and the rates she puts forward are in fact the simple cost of transport and material used.
The Senomyx company, as well as the other brands mentioned, had not responded to our requests at the time of publishing this article.