Programme details Launch of The European Network of GMO Laboratories

European Harmonisation of the Control on Genetically Modified Food

Introduction

Genetically modified food is becoming increasingly common in Europe,
But a lot of people don't want to eat genetically modified food, that is why the foodstuffs imported into the European Union are analyzed for genetic modification.
A European network of GMO laboratories has been created to carry out these controls.


Detecting and Quantifying GMO's

The Institute for Health and Consumer Protection in Ispra - a part of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre - develops, evaluates and harmonizes methods of detecting and quantifying GMOs.
In these labs GMOs can be detected, in maize, for example. For this purpose standard genetic engineering methods are applied - such as PCR, a method that allows a very special glimpse into the interior of a foodstuff.
Thanks to its sensitivity and applicability to the analysis of complex food matrices, PCR has become the method of choice for regulatory compliance.

Creation of a European Network of GMO Laboratories

Consumers want a guarantee that products do not contain any substances not declared on the package. Manufacturers must respect this, in the same way, as it is respected by legislators. So, food has to be labelled correctly and reliably - throughout Europe.

In order to guarantee that food is labelled correctly, control has to be carried out.
And if a kind of control is being carried out, let's say, in Amsterdam the results of such a control must be identical to a control that is being carried out in Rome or in Paris. That is why harmonisation and international standardisation is extremely important.
The reference material for these controls is being developed and manufactured at the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements in Belgium to ensure that the same GMOs throughout Europe lead to the same test results.

Conclusion

It is extremely difficult in some cases to find the GMO. You can indeed compare it to searching for a needle in the haystack.
Precision has to be demonstrated in all labs in terms of reliability, intermediate precision and reproducibility.
So the goals for the future are:
- to network the GMO labs throughout Europe and in the European Union candidate countries more closely;
- to refine the methods of analysis;
- to be able to analyze the genetic material of composite foodstuffs

Refining and expanding scientific monitoring methods will remain an important task for European policy makers.