This is the report of The Committee on Identifying and Assessing Unintended Effects of Genetically Engineered Foods on Human Health, convened by the National Academies and charged with focusing on mechanisms by which unintended changes in the biochemical composition of food occur as a result of genetic engineering, the extent to which mechanisms might lead to changes not readily apparent with current detection methods, and methods to detect such changes to protect human health. The committee was also charged with identifying methods for determining unintended changes in levels of endogenous nutrients, toxins, toxicants, allergens, or other compounds from genetically engineered organisms and methods for assessing their health consequences. Finally, it was charged with identifying and assessing other food safety issues specific to genetically engineered foods. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)