Britain may force DNA 'barcodes' for GM food

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Britain may force DNA 'barcodes' for GM food

Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition

 

The British government is considering forcing biotech companies to

use " DNA bar coding " to identify genetically modified organisms.

 

The National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) in Cambridge,

UK, was granted a patent this week on a DNA bar-coding technique.

The technology would make it easier for regulators to trace GM food

or detect crops that have been contaminated by GM strains. It could

also have wider uses. Banknotes or designer clothes made from bar-

coded cotton would be harder to counterfeit.

 

A spokesman for Britain's Department for Environment, Food and Rural

Affairs (DEFRA) says it is too early to commit to any one method,

but told New Scientist that such technology would be " actively

encouraged " . A recent European Union directive gives governments the

power to make it compulsory.

 

" We have been talking about techniques for encoding unique

identifiers in the context of GMOs for some time, " says Howard

Dalton, DEFRA's chief scientific adviser. " Any development which

would help in the process of detecting and identifying GMOs would be

welcomed. "

 

 

Universal test

 

 

The idea is to add the same unique sequence to all GM organisms,

regardless of how else they are modified. That means a single,

simple DNA test could identify any product as GM if it contains

intact DNA. Since such a sequence would not code for any protein, it

would not affect a plant's properties. Most creatures' genomes are

already littered with vast stretches of non-coding DNA.

 

DNA bar codes could also provide detailed information about a

product. NIAB's patent describes how a series of sequences that

contain compressed information - such as which company made the GM

organisms and what modifications it has - could be added.

 

" Simpler techniques for access to that information will help us

ensure effective traceability and labelling through the food supply

chain. This will ensure consumer choice and increase confidence, "

says Dalton.

 

Detecting GM products is difficult at present, because you have to

know what you are looking for, says Derek Matthews, a molecular

biologist at NIAB. For example, you need to know the short sequences

that flank any added piece of DNA, or the sequence of added genes or

of the DNA regions that control their activity.

 

But biotech companies are often reluctant to reveal such information

because of fears that other companies may copy their technology. For

instance, Gro-Ingunn Hemre at the National Institute of Nutrition

and Seafood Research in Bergen, Norway, has been trying for nearly

three years to get data and material from a number of biotech

companies for a research project, without success.

 

 

 

 

Related Stories

 

 

Europe set for toughest GMO labelling laws

29 November 2002

 

GM crop mishaps unite friends and foes

18 November 2002

 

EU to permit new GM crops

17 October 2002

 

 

For more related stories

search the print edition Archive

 

 

 

Weblinks

 

 

National Institute of Agricultural Botany

 

DEFRA

 

Agricultural Biotechnology Council

 

GM Foods, New Scientist

 

 

 

 

" Very, very difficult "

 

 

The recent EU directive also requires biotech companies to supply

detailed information on every GM product, including how to identify

it, before approval. But companies are still reluctant to

cooperate. " It's very, very difficult to get stuff out of them, even

though they are legally obliged, " says Matthews.

 

He thinks most companies would prefer genetic bar codes, since this

would allow them to label their products without giving away any

secrets. The Agricultural Biotechnology Council, which represents

the British industry, has given the idea a cautious welcome.

 

Over many generations, DNA bar codes could be corrupted or lost, but

it won't matter if only a few plants in a field lose their bar code.

And NIAB's patent includes techniques for error correction just like

those used in computers.