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Unauthorized GM (UGM) refers to those GM crops or products that have not received approval in a particular country..

DNA-based methods are preferred for testing of raw or partially processed food products.  More heavily processed food can be more of an analytical challenge; DNA methods are still applicable provided the quality of DNA enables amplification despite being hampered by the processing procedures or presence of inhibitors or due to complexity in composition in terms of ingredients.

This review (purchase required) focused on possible approaches for adhering to the regulatory requirements while verifying UGM in processed food products. Technical challenges and approaches for extracting purified DNA and necessary quality checks are described. The article covers amplification as well as sequencing-based methods which can be applied to check for presence of UGM ingredients amongst a complex mix of other ingredients. The authors discuss the comparative assessment of these methods in the context of regulatory testing requirements and availability of information of transgenic DNA.

Photo by Kseniya Nekrasova on Unsplash

Imprint Analytics GmbH have published a paper in the Journal of Food Science and Technology on the analysis of coconut waters for authenticity testing. Coconut water is becoming more prevalent as a healthy, low carb alternative to other beverages and is defined as a juice by the European Fruit Juice Association (AIJN).

The study analysed 30 authentic coconut waters, that were extracted from coconuts in the lab, and 24 commercial coconut waters purchased from shops to investigate the detection of added C-4 plant sugars to the drinks.

Find the study here.