Detection of genetically modified food products in Indian market using PCR based GMO detection kit: a pilot study

Abstract

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) have not approved any genetically modified (GM) food products to be manufactured, distributed, sold/or imported in the country. Many countries across the globe are legally approved to cultivate GM crops like soybean, maize, canola, cotton seeds, etc. Many people living in urban India nowadays prefer to purchase imported food products. As a result, an increasing number of food items (without GM labels) are being imported in India. Nevertheless, these products are also easily available for buyers online. Thus, it is important to understand whether these imported food items available in the Indian market are GMO-free. The objective of this study is to check the availability of GM food products in raw and processed forms in the Indian local market through the use of conventional Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). The study is designed to screen for the presence of regulatory genes (35S promoter and NOS terminator) which are the most common sequences found in transgenic food products. Using the cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) method, DNA was extracted from 12 food samples commercially available in the Indian market (locally and online) followed by PCR to detect the presence of GM DNA using HIMEDIA’S MBPCR055 GMO detection kit. Overall, 16.66% of the total samples were tested positive for GM DNA. Of the imported food items, 33.33% were tested positive. Products that were manufactured in the US and Netherlands were tested positive for GMOs. Their main ingredients were soy and corn. Samples manufactured in India were GMO negative.