Biotech companies take note: the British government may soon
require ?DNA bar coding? of all genetically modified organisms
(GMO?s), reports Duncan Graham-Rowe in New Scientist.
According to Graham-Rowe, ?bar coding? involves attaching the ?same
unique sequence to all GM organisms,? which means ?a single, simple
DNA test could identify any product as GM if it contains intact
DNA.? Requiring bar coding would dramatically increase regulators?
ability both to track and to test for GMO?s. Graham-Rowe argues
that recommending bar coding would affect a compromise between
biotech companies? desire for secrecy and governmental agencies?
need to ?trace GM food or detect crops that have been contaminated
by GM strains.? Ultimately, the use of such a technique would
ensure that, as Lorenzo Consoli of Greenpeace has said, ?the times
when you could sneak millions of tonnes of soybeans and maize
unlabelled into the food chain are definitely over.?
?Amelia Bauerly
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British Move Toward ?DNA Bar Coding?
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