UK Consortium Selects DNA Testing Firm for Certification Program

In the UK, where health and environmental concerns about genetically modified food are strong, a consortium of major retail food chains and their suppliers has chosen Genetic ID, Inc.—a Fairfield, IA-based laboratory that detects genetic modification (GMO) in foods—to join Law Laboratories Ltd., a British consulting firm to the food industry, to operate Cert ID, a certification program to assure the supply of non-genetically modified foods.

As European resistance to GMO foods has increased, the consortium hopes that the Cert ID will offer American exporters a standardized approach that will guarantee acceptance of their non-GMO products in the UK. This acceptance is expected to rapidly expand to the European Union in general.

Retail stores in the UK have promised to eliminate GMOs from their private label products (which account for 60% of the food sold) but consumers and the media have continually asked how they can know if GMO ingredients have actually been removed. The Cert ID program seeks to answer that question by enforcing an agreed-upon set of standards backed by rigorous scientific tests to verify the GMO status of foods from seed to retail shelf.

"Cert ID ensures a consistent approach to an agreed standard based on molecular biology, ISO approved certification procedures, and objective tests," said John Fagan, PhD, founder of Genetic ID. "This Cert ID program allows accurate labeling of foods, thereby giving consumers a choice about the foods they eat."

Fagan is a molecular biologist with 17 years experience doing DNA research for the National Institutes of Health. His laboratory, Genetic ID, claims to be the first in the world to provide DNA tests to detect GMO in foods. Genetic ID uses large sample sizes and its proprietary triple-check methodology to detect every GMO crop on the market. It is said to detect occurrence levels as low as 0.10% and 0.01%.

Law Laboratories (LawLabs), the British component of the Cert ID joint venture, is one of the UK's largest independent consultancies addressing the legality, safety and composition of food and consumer goods.