501Chapter 29
Assessment of Genetically Modifi ed Organisms
( GMO ) in Meat Products by PCR
Marta Hern á ndez , Alejandro Ferrando , and David Rodr í guez - L á zaro
Introduction
A genetically modifi ed organism (GMO) is
any organism transformed by using the
recombinant DNA technology or that has
incorporated a gene sequence into its genome.
That sequence can be of the same species as
happened with the fi rst commercially avail-
able GMO in 1995, the Flav Savr ™ tomato,
or a sequence derived from a different species
than that of the recipient, which is called
sensu stricto transgene. However, both terms
are used nowadays without distinction. GMO
have been developed from the three domains:
archaea, bacteria, and eukaryote, but only a
very few species are commercially approved.
In Spain, there are 45 maize varieties
approved for cultivation. There are important
genetically modifi ed (GM) microorganisms
used for fermenting foods like cheese or
beverages such as wine or beer, as well as
transgenic animals and plants developed for
medical or research purposes. Currently,
no GM animal has been authorized for human
consumption, and therefore, GM animals
have not been introduced into the food
chain.
The study and analysis of GMOs used for
foodstuff production involves regulatory
establishments, research institutes, analytical
laboratories, farmers, and consumers, making
the GMO area a notorious issue with pro-
found social and economical effects (Rodr í guez -
L á zaro et al. 2007 ; Marmiroli et al. 2008 ).
Since the fi rst genetically modifi ed crop was
approved for commercialization in 1995,
there has been an exponential increase in cul-
tivated GMOs (up to 125 million hectares in
2008, with an annual increase of 9.4%), in 25
countries (15 developing and 10 industrial
countries worldwide), involving more than
13.3 million of farmers (James 2008 ). In
addition, the tendency is to increase not just
the cultivated area, but also the number of
different traits and plant species transformed.
To date, cultivated GM crops mainly include
four plant species: soybean (53%), maize
(30%), cotton (12%), and canola (5%). The
most common dominant traits introduced are
herbicide tolerance (63%) and insect resis-
tance (15%), with tacked double or triple
traits occupying a larger area (22%).
However, other crops are being developed to
improve other aspects such as nutritional
value and environmental stress resistance, as
well as for textile or biofuel use (EFSA GMO
Panel 2008 ).
The lack of information and confi dence
within society ’ s food chain regarding the
food safety of the novel foods produced has
meant that the public perception of GMOs
has been controversial, particularly in Europe
(Frewer et al. 2004 ; Michelini et al. 2008 )
and to a lesser extent, in North America
(Dale 1999 ), where public information
programs were carried out by major grain
biotech producers in the early 1980s (Ahmed
2002 ). With the intention of alleviating nega-
tive consumer perception, some governmen-
tal, regulatory agencies have established