GMOs detection

Genetically Modified Organisms are subject to hot debates in European countries. The validity of the "scientific expertise" proposed and political decisions are often questionable. Most environmental NGOs consider GMOs are not harmless enough and do not bring substantial benefits for the society. Therfore they call for bans or at least more scientific and ecological research on adverse effects to the environment.

The European Institutions introduced regulations on GMOs (No 1829/2003) and on the traceability and labelling of GMOs (No1830/2003). They demand a labelling irrespective of whether foreign DNA or protein is detectable in the final product. During transport and processing GMOs need to be labelled specifically. A threshold of adventitious and "technically unavoidable" presence of GMO has been added and set at 0.9 %.

The Working Group 11 of the CEN technical committee CEN/TC 275 on "Genetically Modified Food" is working on six European standards describing methods of analysis for the detection of GMOs. As this work is conducted by CEN also on behalf of ISO, the ultimate standards should be approved as international standards.

ECOS has been sending experts to this working group since 2003 to insure it delivers highly efficient ways to detect GMOs on the European market (such as accurate sampling methods).

This group has been dormant since 2007 but a proposal was then submitted to set up a new field of technical activity that aims to deal with a review of the above mentioned package of standards and to discuss the implementation of the technical specification on sampling. ECOS will monitor this work and assess if it is worth getting involved.

A new working group was also set up in CEN/TC 264 (Air Quality) about GMO detection in air. ECOS has been participating in this since its start and will continue following the process in 2010.