Foods derived from genetically modified organisms have been on the market in many countries, predominantly in the USA and in Canada, for more than five years now without any reports of adverse effects on human health. Safety assessment criteria have been the subject of early discussions among competent international and national organisations and institutions and have led to the development of ...

Many methods for detecting model genetically engineered microorganisms (GEMs) in experimental ecosystems rely on cultivation of introduced cells. In this study, survival of Escherichia coli was monitored with the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene. This approach allowed enumeration of GEMs by both plating and microscopy. Use of the GFP-marked GEMs revealed that E. coli persisted in stream wat...

In this study, we investigate the long-term exposure (20 weeks) to fumonisin B(1) (FB(1)) in grower-finisher pigs by conducting a quantitative exposure assessment (QEA). Our analytical approach involved both deterministic and semi-stochastic modeling for dietary comparative analyses of FB(1) exposures originating from genetically engineered Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)-corn, conventional non-Bt ...

The development and marketing of agricultural biotechnology applications has led to controversies over whether and how to regulate this new technology. The European Union has imposed severe restrictions on agricultural biotechnology, particularly in terms of approval and labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food. The United States has maintained a far more permissive approval po...

Detection of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food is an important issue for all the subjects involved in food control and customer's right. Due to the increasing number of GMOs imported to Iran during the past few years, it has become necessary to screen the products in order to determine the identity of the consumed daily foodstuffs. In this study, following the extraction of genomic ...

Any release of transgenic organisms into nature is a concern because ecological relationships between genetically engineered organisms and other organisms (including their wild-type conspecifics) are unknown. To address this concern, we developed a method to evaluate risk in which we input estimates of fitness parameters from a founder population into a recurrence model to predict changes in tr...

Based on the scientific uncertainty surrounding both the molecular characterization of genetically engineered (GE) crops as well as the detection of potential allergenicity, there is more than enough uncertainty to decide to require labeling of foods produced via GE as a risk management measure as a way to identify unintended health effects that may occur post approval. If foods are not labeled...

Primers and probes were developed for the element-specific detection of cry1A.105 and cry2Ab2 genes, based on their DNA sequence as present in GM maize MON89034. Cry genes are present in many genetically modified (GM) plants and they are important targets for developing GMO element-specific detection methods. Element-specific methods can be of use to screen for the presence of GMOs in food and ...

Eighty percent of (commercial) genetically engineered seeds (GES) are designed only to resist herbicides. Letting farmers use more chemicals, they cut labor costs. But developing nations say GES cause food shortages, unemployment, resistant weeds, and extinction of native cultivars when "volunteers" drift nearby. While GES patents are reasonable, this paper argues many patent policies are not. ...

In current debates on emerging technologies for plant breeding in Europe, much attention has been given to the regulatory status of these techniques and their public acceptance. At present, both genetically modified plants with cisgenic approaches-using genes from crossable species-as well as transgenic approaches-using genes from different species-fall under GMO regulation in the EU and both a...