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GMO Testing

GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) crops have been developed to make farming easier and more successful by changing targeted plant traits. The two most common traits in commercial GMO crops today are insect resistance and herbicide tolerance. Pesticides use is greatly reduced on GMO crops that produce their own pesticides. Herbicide resistant crops thrive better when they are not affected by weeds or the herbicides used to control them. Other traits that can be developed include improved nutrition, fungus resistance, seed sterility, and extreme weather resistance. The US is the largest grower of GM crops in the world, and as much as 95% of some US crops are GM varieties.

Concerns about potential health hazards have resulted in varied levels of acceptence by consumers and regulatory bodies. Many consumers would prefer food labels to portray information about GMO content. Various countries have set threshold levels for the unintentional presence of GMO material in order for a food product to be labeled non-GMO. The threshold is 0.9% in the EU, 3% in Korea, and 5% in Japan. The US has no threshold or labeling requirements.

AAL can determine the GM content of corn, soy, and rice products for export suitability. In the EU, only authorized GMO varieties can be present unintentionally in processed food. The EU has authorized the use of 17 types of GMO corn and 3 varieties of GMO soy for food use. For importation, the EU has approved 8 GMO corn varieties and 2 GMO soy varieties.

Currently there is no commercially grown variety of GMO wheat. The first GMO rice variety has been assessed as safe by the EU but awaits final authorization for food use and approval for import.

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