Genetically modified food is food produced from and/or containing ingredients produced from GMOs. GMO food may only be authorised for sale if it has been confirmed that:
- does not pose a danger to health;
- does not mislead consumers;
- has no less nutritional value than its non-GM counterpart.
Our laboratory at J.S. Hamilton Poland performs analyses of food and feed for the detection of genetic modifications in accordance with European law. Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2003 on genetically modified food and feed, as amended, requires the labelling of all food and feed products containing, consisting of or produced from GMOs. The threshold for GMO content mandating labelling is set at 0.9%. GMO content below this threshold is considered adventitious or technically unavoidable and does not have to be indicated on the label.
In the case of products containing or consisting of GMOs, this information must be indicated on the labels in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1830/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2003. It is also possible, after complying with the requirements established in the Act of 13 June 2019 on the labelling of products produced without the use of genetically modified organisms as free from such organisms, to label food or feed as GMO-free. Graphic signs, which can be used in the labelling of GMO-free food and feed, are regulated by the Regulation of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of 4 November 2019 on graphic signs, which are used for the purpose of labelling food and feed as free from genetically modified organisms.
Our laboratory at J.S. Hamilton Poland performs tests for the detection and quantification of GMOs in three steps, using the real-time PCR technique:
- stage I – screening – this stage of testing for the presence of GMOs consists in detection of elements of genetic constructs most commonly used in the creation of GMO plants. At this stage the presence of the 35S promoter, NOS terminator and FMV promoter as well as pat, bar and EPSPS elements is detected,
- stage II – qualitative testing for modification of soybean/hemp/corn – depending on the composition of the sample. In the J.S. Hamilton Poland laboratory we can perform the following qualitative GMO tests:
- GMO soybean (RR, RR2, A2704-12, A5547-127),
- GMO corn (BT11, BT176, T25, GA21, TC1507, MON810, MON88017),
- Corn NK603 quality,
- Corn MON89034 quality,
- RT-73 rapeseed quality,
- stage III – quantitative study including determination of GMO crops (RR soybean, RR2 soybean, RT-73 rapeseed, MON810 maize, NK603 corn).
