BACKGROUND In order to provide a system fully integrated with qPCR screening, usually used in GMO routine analysis, as well as being able to detect, characterize and identify a broad spectrum of GMOs in food/feed matrices, two bidirectional DNA walking methods targeting p35S or tNOS, the most common transgenic elements found in GM crops, were developed. These newly developed DNA walking methods...

There is a growing interest in understanding how different actors involved in debates regarding GMOs produce, justify and mobilize evidence in the face of the ‘unknown unknowns’ put forward by this technology. Moreover, and in line with the STS literature on the role of non-expert knowledge and concerned groups in the shaping of GMO regulations, there is an ever-increasing interest in understan...

This paper proposes an analytical framework to examine the market and welfare impacts of GMOs, when some consumers refuse genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and when two supply channels are segregated (one for goods that containing GMOs and one for non-genetically-modified identity-preserved goods). Our analytical framework begins at the level of individual farmers, handlers and consumers, t...

The increase in new GMOs (genetically modified organisms) has led to specific legislation world-wide to regulate the presence and/or the amount of GMOs in food, food ingredients, feeds and agriculture commodities. Regulatory demands of labelling and traceability of GMOs in the food chain need suitable sampling protocols and analytical methods. At present, two main techniques, the DNA-based poly...

MOTIVATION Unknown genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have not undergone a risk evaluation, and hence might pose a danger to health and environment. There are, today, no methods for detecting unknown GMOs. In this paper we propose a novel method intended as a first step in an approach for detecting unknown genetically modified (GM) material in a single plant. RESULTS A model is designed wh...

This Note analyzes current international regulations for the deliberate release of genetically modified organisms into the environment. Part I describes the benefits and risks associated with the introduction of GMOs into the environment and presents an overview of deliberate release regulations in various countries to show the range of standards in individual nations. Part II analyzes internat...

The public discourse on the acceptability of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is not only controversial, but also infused with highly emotional and moralizing rhetoric. Although the assessment of risks and benefits of GMOs must be a scientific exercise, many debates on this issue seem to remain impervious to scientific evidence. In many cases, the moral psychology attributes of the general...

EFSA’s remit in the risk assessment of GMOs is very broad encompassing genetically modified plants, microorganisms and animals and assessing their safety for humans, animals and the environment. The legal frame for GMOs is set by Directive 2001/18/EC on their release into the environment, and Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 on GM food and feed. The main focus of EFSA’s GMO Panel and GMO Unit lies ...

Background Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have numerous biomedical, agricultural and environmental applications. Development of accurate methods for the detection of GMOs is a prerequisite for the identification and control of authorized and unauthorized release of these engineered organisms into the environment and into the food chain. Current detection methods are unable to detect unch...