Genetic ID — Science

In recent years, regulatory requirements and market pressures around the world have prompted the food industry to address these questions: Does this product contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs)? If so, which GMOs? And how much is present?

Genetic ID provides the food industry with tools to respond with confidence to these questions. Genetic ID provides clients with a competitive edge based on sound science.

PCR (polymerase chain reaction) is the technology of choice for detecting GMOs in a wide variety of food products. It has proved to be highly rigorous, sensitive, and accurate. PCR uses biochemical processes to scan through a sample of DNA to locate one or more specific DNA target sequences. A target sequence is then amplified billions of times, making it possible to detect that sequence with extreme sensitivity, as well as to quantify the proportion of DNA molecules in the sample that contains the target sequence.

Sensitivity and specificity are two distinct advantages of GMO analysis via PCR testing over other methods (such as protein testing, including strip and ELISA methods). Capable of detecting genetically altered DNA content as low as one part in ten thousand, PCR is considered at least 100 times more sensitive than protein tests.

PCR is often more economical in practice than other testing methods because the much greater sensitivity of PCR means less testing is required.

Other advantages of PCR testing include the capability to detect all, rather than some, GMOs, and the capability to quantify GMO content in almost all food and feed products. The robust nature of the PCR method makes it possible to use PCR to test for the presence of genetically modified material at almost all points in the food chain, from the farmer’s field to the retail shelf.

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