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Bt is Bacillus thuringiensis, a soil-dwelling bacterium commonly used as a pesticide. It produces proteins called delta endotoxins that paralyze the digestive tract of certain insects such as moths, flies, mosquitoes, beetles, wasps, ants, and nematodes. This causes the insect to literally starve to death.

The bacterial spores and proteins have been used as insecticidal sprays since the 1920s.

The Bt gene has also been introduced into a number of genetically engineered plants including tobacco, potato, cotton, soybeans, and especially corn, which was first approved in the US in 1996.

Toxicology studies have demonstrated at oral doses as high as 5,000 mg/kg body weight had no observed adverse effects in mice. Skin prick testing in humans has resulted in no detectable production of antibodies. Bt toxin proteins have been shown to break down within minutes of exposure to simulated gastric fluids, indicating they are likely unstable in the digestive system.