Screening for contamination with genetically modified organisms in food, feed and their additives obtained in retail and online shops in Latvia

The aim of the study was to screen for contamination of food and feed products with genetically modified organisms (GMO) in several sample groups obtained from retail and online shops. The total number of samples was 171, including 67 of food, 26 feed, 27 additive, and 51 samples of dried pollen for human consumption. Detection and quantification of GMO in food and feed was performed according to the approved quantitative real-time PCR methods. Fermentation product samples were analyzed using screening for antimicrobial resistance genes, 16S RNA and ITS1 sequencing, isolation of bacterial cultures and whole genome sequencing. In total, GMO contamination was found in 12 samples (in 10.45% of food and in 19.23% of feed samples). A lower proportion of GMO containing samples were from the European Union (10.26 %) vs. samples from outside (17.02%), but none with ingredients of both origins. Non-compliant were three food and five feed samples. Of the 27 samples of food and feed additives and food supplements, 10 samples were possibly non-compliant, as they contained live bacteria with antimicrobial resistance genes, and seven of them contained possibly recombinant DNA. The study indicates presence of GMO contamination that emphasizes the need for further monitoring.