Food > Biotechnology > Food Safety 

Detecting Products Derived Through Biotechnology

What is detection?

Biotechnology-derived plants, and the foods made from them, don’t usually look any different from their conventional counterparts. To find out whether or not foods contain products of biotechnology, scientific methods must be used.

There are several types of tests, but they are all designed to detect a feature of a biotechnology-derived plant. This feature might be a gene or a sequence of DNA, it might be a protein, or it might be a characteristic such as herbicide-tolerance. The detection method used depends on the plant and how it has been modified.

What methods are used?

There are three broad types of tests used to detect foods derived through biotechnology.

• DNA-based tests: these detect the specific gene or sequence of DNA that has been introduced into the plant. These tests are usually done with a method called the polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, a very sensitive test that can detect specific sequences of DNA even when present in very tiny amounts.
• Protein-based tests: these detect new proteins that are in a plant as a result of using biotechnology. The most commonly used method is called the enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay, or ELISA.
• Bioassays: these test for new characteristics or traits expressed in a growing plant. This type of testing is particularly useful for detecting tolerance to a specific herbicide in germinating seeds.

Challenges with detection

• There is currently no single test that can detect all biotechnology-derived foods. The tests detect sequences of DNA and proteins that are unique to specific biotechnology-derived plants.
• Food processing and refining can break down or destroy DNA and proteins, leaving nothing to detect. Canola oil, for example, contains virtually no DNA or protein, the objects of most detection tests. So even if the canola oil was made from a biotechnology-derived plant, this is difficult or impossible to show with a test.
• To get an accurate test result, a large enough sample must be used. Some tests require larger amounts of starting material than others. In some cases, it is not possible to collect enough of a product, at the same time, from the same location and from the same lot, to conduct a test.
• Different countries do not use standardized methods of detection, which could complicate imports and exports of food.

What is the CFIA doing to develop its ability to test for biotechnology-derived foods?

• The CFIA is using funds from Budget 2000 to build its biotechnology testing and detection capabilities by developing better methods, acquiring new expertise and staff, and using new technologies and equipment.
• A new requirement is being added to the CFIA’s regulatory directives. Companies applying to have biotechnology-derived plants approved in Canada must develop tests to detect their product.
• Internationally Canada is part of the Codex Alimentarius Working Group on Methods of Analysis (part of Codex’s Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Foods Derived from Biotechnology). This working group has been compiling a list of detection methods that will be considered by Codex member countries. Detection methods need to be approved through this process before they can be written into international standards, guidelines and recommendations.
• The CFIA has also introduced the President’s Graduate Assistantship program for graduate students studying biotechnology in the areas of biological sciences, environmental science, food science, plant agriculture, and veterinary medicine. Some recipients are currently conducting research in testing development related to food safety.