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In 2019, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (Mattilsynet) detected illegal content of genetically modified material (GMOs) in two samples of imported food. Very few organic, baby, allergy, and vegetarian products contained trace GMO contaminants. However, a large number of special products
: for athletes, and a variety of weight loss products and medical products contain such impurities. The findings were made under the annual program for monitoring and control of genetic modification of food, feed and seeds.
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?. What is GMO
Genetically modified organism, GMO (from genetically modified organism) It is nothing but an organism whose genome has been altered by genetic engineering in order to obtain new physiological features (or to change existing ones). The first GMO was created in 1973and the first field trials took place in 1986 with tobacco. The first commercial GM plants began selling in the United States in 1994. However, it was discontinued three years later. in FlavrSavr tomatoes, the activity of the gene responsible for the process of tomato ripening and softening was reduced.
The modifications that organisms are subject to can be divided into three groups:
The activity of genes naturally occurring in a given organism is changed
Additional copies of its own genes are introduced into the body
The introduced gene comes from an organism of another species - transgenic organisms.
The modifications of crops mainly consist in the introduction or removal of specific genes from them. The modifications are primarily aimed at:
- increasing resistance to herbicides and pests
- improvement of resistance to viral, bacterial and fungal infections
- greater tolerance to abiotic stress (mainly climate change)
- extending the shelf life of the fruit
- improving the composition of fatty acids and amino acids of proteins
- normalizing the concentration of phytoestrogens
- increasing the dry matter content
- change in the content of carbohydrates, carotenoids and vitamins
- removing anti-nutritional ingredients - toxins, compounds that hinder the absorption of nutrients and compounds that undergo chemical reactions during cooking, producing toxins. These modifications increase, for example, the content of nutraceuticals, i.e. substances necessary for health.
In the world, the most frequently modified plants are: corn, tomatoes, soybeans, potatoes, cotton, melons, and tobacco. In Europe, the most frequently modified materials are: maize, rape, and sugar beets.
