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The Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority (CAFIA) checked throughout last year whether food products containing genetic modifications that are not permitted were present on the Czech market.

Throughout last year, the CAFIA inspectors took samples of food or raw materials containing soya or maize; the samples were taken particularly at producers. The experts from CAFIA specialized laboratory then examined whether they did not contain genetically modified organisms (GMO). If the presence of GMO’s was proven, they measured their amount. According to the Community legislation, every food product (or raw material intended for its production) containing more than 0.9% GMO must be labelled with the words “Produced from genetically modified raw material” or “Contains genetically modified organisms”.

The Food Inspection Authority inspectors took 92 samples of food products and raw materials, out of them 47 contained soya and 45 maize. Laboratory analysis confirmed the presence of GMO in 7 samples: six of them contained permitted genetic modification of Round-up Ready soya; one sample contained permitted modification of MON810 maize. The content of genetic modifications did not, however, exceed the limit of 0.9%. All samples were therefore evaluated as satisfactory.

The Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority conducts analysis of GM food and raw materials in its own specialized laboratory in Brno which is equipped with top-class apparatuses intended both for qualitative and quantitative determination of GMO content. Since 2004, the CAFIA laboratory has been part of the European Network of GMO Laboratories, ENGL. This year, the laboratory will be equipped with another apparatus which will allow to determine the content of other genetic modifications in food products.

So far, the European Commission has approved 26 genetic modifications that can be put on the market; the modifications apply to soya, maize, rape and cotton. However, a number of these modifications are not yet present on the market.