IS THERE ANY POSSIBILITY OF DETECTING THE USE OF GENETIC-ENGINEERING IN PROCESSED FOODS

To elucidate if there is any possibility to identify highly processed foods as produced through genetic engineering, beer, soya bean oil, pr ocessed tomato (ketch-up, paste, pizza tomatoes, peeled tomatoes, soup ) and potato (french fries, crisps, mashed potatoes, flour, starch, fr ied potatoes) products as well as an enzyme preparation (Natuphos) wer e investigated by PCR. In pizza tomatoes, peeled tomatoes, french frie s, fried potatoes, potato flour and potato crisps DNA suitable for PCR was found. Therefore, it is possible to identify these products as pr oduced through genetic engineering. Such an identification is impossib le in certain beers (pilsener, export, Nutfield lyte), soya bean oil, tomato soup, potato starch, mashed potatoes and Natuphos since PCR-ana lysis gave no indication of the presence of DNA in these products. As it was shown by adding Escherichia coli DNA the used method is, in pri nciple, capable of detecting specifically small amounts of DNA in such products.