Traceability of genetically modified organisms

The traceability of genetically modified organisms
Genetically modified organism
A genetically modified organism or genetically engineered organism is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. These techniques, generally known as recombinant DNA technology, use DNA molecules from different sources, which are combined into one...

(GMOs) describes a system that ensures the forwarding of the identity of a GMO from its production to its final buyer. Traceability is an essential prerequisite for the co-existence

Co-existence of genetically modified and conventional crops and derived food and feed

In the context of agriculture and food and feed production, co-existence means using cropping systems with and without genetically modified organisms in parallel. For co-existence to be assured, the separation and the identity of the respective food and feed products must be maintained at all...

of GM and non-GM foods, and for the freedom of choice for consumers.

Why traceability is needed

The traceability of GMOs is founded on two needs. First, consumers in many countries are reluctant to buy genetically modified foods, and are sceptical of the use of GM crops for animal feed. Consequently, the concept of co-existence has been developed to separate GM and non-GM supply chains, and is only possible if all purchasers along the production chain know what they are buying. Secondly, although every GMO that is approved for commercialisation must have passed a safety assessment, it may be necessary to withdraw a certain GMO from the market - for example, if new scientific evidence raises doubts about its safety.

Unique identifiers for GMOs

For these purposes, after three years of debate, the OECD countries came up with an identity code for GMOs in 2002. Initially, some member countries (for example, the USA, but also Canada and Australia) were opposed to the concept. The final decision requires the assignment of a "unique identifier"

Unique identifier

With reference to a given set of objects, a unique identifier is any identifier which is guaranteed to be unique among all identifiers used for those objects and for a specific purpose...

to each GMO event which is authorised in one or more OECD countries. The unique identifier is a code consisting of nine letters and/or numbers. The first two or three characters indicate the company submitting the application, while the following six or five characters specify the respective transformation event. The last digit serves as a verifier. All the crop varieties derived from one transformation event will share the same unique identifier.

The unique identifier has been integrated in the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety

Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety

The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety is an international agreement on biosafety, as a supplement to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Biosafety Protocol seeks to protect biological diversity from the potential risks posed by living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology.The...

and in the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

legislation on the labelling and traceability of genetically modified organisms (Regulation (EC) No 1830/2003). Detailing the unique identifier, the regulation demands the forwarding of written documentation of the identity of a GMO at every stage of the production process. This allows a GMO to be traced even if, for example, due to intensive processing, it can no longer be detected. Using this unique identifier, information on all approved transgenic GMOs is accessible through the Biosafety Clearing-House

Biosafety Clearing-House

The Biosafety Clearing-House is an international mechanism that exchanges information about the movement of genetically modified organisms, established under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.- Overview of the Biosafety Clearing-House :...

, the information exchange platform of the Cartagena Protocol.

Detection methods supplement documentation

Traceability does not rely solely on documentation. By biochemical means (polymerase chain reaction

Polymerase chain reaction

The polymerase chain reaction is a scientific technique in molecular biology to amplify a single or a few copies of a piece of DNA across several orders of magnitude, generating thousands to millions of copies of a particular DNA sequence....

) even tiny traces of GMOs can be detected and identified -- provided that suitable testing tools exist for the GMO assumed to be present. In the EU, such a tool must be part of the application documents for the approval for commercialisation. For most products and production stages, testing methods are available to monitor and enforce the compliance with traceability regulations.

External links

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