1.1 GMO Testing Services
1.1 GMO Testing Services | 1.2 Species Identification Services | 1.3 Food Safety Testing Services | 1.4 Food Allergen Detection Services | 1.5 Certification and Professional Services for Food Industry |
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| What is a Qualitative GMO Test? |
A qualitative test can quickly determine the presence of GM materials in the test sample. If a sample tests positive for GM ingredients, a further quantitative test for the amount of GM substance can be arranged. In a standard qualitative GMO test, each sample is usually tested for the presence of the following transgenic DNA markers |
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35S promoter: | | Qualitative tests for other event specific markers are also available: | | * | Mon810 | | * | Bt11 | | * | GA21 | | * | T25 | | * | Starlink | | * | Roundup Ready Unknown Fragment | | * | GM Papaya | | * | New leaf potato series | | | | A DNA sequence derived from the Cauliflower Mosaic Virus (CaMV) that ensures high-level transcription from the artificially inserted gene. | | | | NOS terminator: | | A DNA sequence from the nopaline synthase gene of the bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens that ensures efficient termination of transcription from the artificially inserted gene. | | | | Roundup Ready resistance#: | | This gene was developed by Monsanto to resist its own herbicide, Roundup. We use specially designed primers to amplify a characteristic region of this gene. | | | | | Bt endotoxin#: | | | The gene for delta endotoxin from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is inserted into plants, especially corn and cotton, to produce insect resistance. We use specially designed primers to test for a region of this gene. | |
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# These 2 markers will only be tested if one of the above (35S or NOS) markers shows positive result. |
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| What is a Quantitative GMO Test? |
| A quantitative test determines the amount of GM DNA in the sample provided for testing. This test is offered after samples test positive for GM ingredients in the qualitative test or can be used as the primary testing method if requested. This service has wide applicability, for example, current EU regulations state the value of 1% as the maximum tolerance level after which a marketable food item is required to be labeled GM. Therefore, a sample testing positive in a qualitative test may need to undergo further quantitative tests to determine whether the GM content reaches the tolerance level set by the GMO regulations of a particular country. |  | We use state-of-the-art real-time PCR equipment (based on a TaqMan technology); to conduct our quantitative GM tests. |
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| Two specific tests are offered: |
- Amount of Transgenic DNA as a percentage of the total transgenic DNA / total sample DNA.
- Amount of Transgenic DNA as a percentage of the total transgenic DNA / total DNA of specific ingredient, e.g. Roundup Ready DNA / total soy DNA.
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| The usual turnaround time for quantitative tests is 5-7 working days. Special arrangements can be made for a shorter turnaround time. For further information on the price schedule, please click here. |
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