For PCR analysis, all samples were first tested for the presence of
PCR-amplifiable soybean DNA using primers for the taxon-specific
gene Le1 (Soybean Lectin) and then screened using the Foodproof
GMO Screening kit, which provides a multiplex qualitative realtime PCR assay targeting four elements of non-plant origin
widely used in GM constructs: Cauliflower Mosaic Virus 35S promoter (CaMV 35S), Agrobacterium tumefaciens Nopaline synthase
terminator (tNOS), Figwort Mosaic Virus 35S promoter (FMV 35S)
and the bar gene from Streptomyces hygroscopicus. All samples
tested positive for the plant gDNA-specific control gene included in
the screening kit apart from 2 of the chocolate samples; therefore
for these 2 cases, no conclusions can be drawn about GMO content.
Of the remaining 75 samples, 15/19 animal feeds (79%) and 6/56
soya-containing food samples (10.7%) tested positive for one or
more GMO elements (Table 3). Of these, the GMO-positive foodstuffs included 2 different soya milk samples, 2 soya-containing
biscuits, 1 soya-containing snack, and 1 tofu sample. Notably, Biscuit#02 wasmarketed as a baby biscuit; however, no GMOmaterial
was found in any of the infant formula samples tested, nor in the
soya flour, soy sauce, or soy-containing chocolate samples.