Contamination of food with genetically modified rice of Asian origin
Eurofins offers solutions for exclusion of non-approved GM travel
Dec 2024. Again this year, findings of genetically modified rice in food were reported via the EU's Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF). Eurofins GeneScan supports you with comprehensive GMO analysis and individually optimised analysis packages for different questions concerning genetically modified rice.
Genetically modified rice: RASFF notifications at a glance
Since the first notification of GM rice in the EU's Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) in 2006, the presence of GM rice in food and feed samples has been reported annually. Initially, many notifications concerned rice samples from the USA (e.g. LibertyLink™ rice events), but in recent years, the majority of affected samples have almost exclusively originated from Asia. This is also confirmed by a recent publication by Fawzy Eissa et al, who found that China in particular is the country of origin with the most notifications in food. Current RASFF-notifications include several detections of GM rice in processed products such as rice noodles, as well as a positive detection of Basmati rice from Pakistan.
Rapid Alerts 2002 - 2024, rice and other species
It is noticeable that the number of notifications has increased again since 2023: In the first three quarters of 2024, nine rapid alerts have already been published due to the detection of GM rice in various rice products. The graph below illustrates the trend in GMO rapid alerts since 2006, highlighting the proportion of positive rice samples in these alerts.
Eurofins GeneScan: Customised solutions for the GMO analysis of rice
The European Union responded to this development with an emergency measure for rice products in 2008. The current valid implementing decision (2011/884/EU) describes the recommended analytical methods for rice products from China. Eurofins GeneScan offers various analysis packages for genetically modified rice, which can be used to fulfill the screening requirements of this emergency measure, those of the German Association Food without Genetic Engineering. (Verband Lebensmittel ohne Gentechnik e.V , VLOG) or the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL).
We support you
Eurofins GeneScan has been providing comprehensive analysis since the first report of genetically modified rice in food samples in 2006. Today we offer comprehensive GMO testing for rice products from China and other Asian countries.
Our expert, Ulf Rathjens will be happy to advise you on the required evidence and offer you optimised GMO analysis for your rice products.
Relevant sources
[1] Fawzy Eissa et al.: Analysis of EU RASFF notifications on genetically modified food and feed from 2002 to 2023 (Journal of Food Composition and Analysis)
[2] Commission Implementing Decision (2011/884/EU) on emergency measures regarding unauthorised genetically modified rice in rice products originating from China (consolidated text)
[3] JRC Science and Policy Reports: Revised Guidance on the Detection of Genetically Modified Rice Originating from China Using Real-Time PCR for the detection of P-35S, T-nos and Cry1Ab/Ac
[4] Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF)
[5] Nader, W.F.; Grote, A.-K.; and Cuevas Montilla, E.: Impacts of food safety and authenticity issues on the rice trade. Pages 159 – 176 in: Rice Processing – The Comprehensive Guide to Global Technology and Innovative Products (J. Sontag, editor). Erling Verlag, Germany, 2014. (purchasable at Erling Verlag)
[6] Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL): Leitfaden für die Probenahme und die Untersuchung zum Nachweis gentechnischer Veränderungen in Reis (Guideline for sampling and testing for the detection of genetic modifications in rice, in German)
