Detection of genetically modified crops in animal feed in Serbia

Abstract

The survey was conducted on a total of 100 non-labelled samples of feed and feed mixture containing maize, soybean and rapeseed, originating from countries with different legislation systems. Screening of all samples was performed using primers for Cauliflower Mosaic Virus 35S (CaMV35S) promoter, primers for the Agrobacterium tumefaciens nopaline synthase (NOS) terminator and event-specific primers for GT73 rapeseed. Roundup Ready soybean was found in 26 samples, with the amount of GM soybean above the limit of 0.9% in 9 of them. There was one maize seed sample positive for the presence of MON810 maize and no rapeseed meal samples contained GM rapeseed. The results found in this study clearly showed that imported maize and soybean and complete mixtures intended for animal feed on the Serbian market contain GMO. Monitoring plans are required to control the distribution of non-labelled feeds containing GMO in the Serbian market.