Food adulteration with genetically modified soybean and maize, meat of animal species and ractopamine residues, in different food products

Abstract

Introduction: Worldwide, governments have developed many strategies to overcome the long-standing food problem. Recently, increasing attention has been paid to food contaminated by GMOs and residues of meat from hormonally treated animals, which leads to high health risks for consumers. The aims of this study were to detect recombinant DNA from genetically modified maize, soybeans, and fruits. Besides, the adulteration of meat by mixing meat from different animal species and ractopamine residues (RAC) using qualitative and quantitative methods in imported and local food products was detected. Results: Sixty local and imported food samples were collected from different supermarkets, local markets, street vendors, and slum areas in Egypt. The results revealed that the recombinant DNA targeted sequences were detected in 25 samples, with the common regulatory genes (CaMV35s) in 16 samples. The Bt-11 and RRS genes were both detected in maize and soybean samples, respectively. However, thirty-five were used for a screening of meat adulteration with meat from different animal species using qualitative real-time PCR and detection of RAC residues using ELISA. The results revealed that 11 samples were positively pork adulterated and 6 meat samples were positively adulterated (dog, donkey, pork, horse, sheep, chicken, and soybean). Finally, lard was detected in three positively adulterated porcine meats. Conclusion: It is concluded that, as per the international regulations to protect consumers from the harm caused by food adulteration, countries have to recognize and adopt highly restricted labelling systems as well as qualitative and/or quantitative methods in routine analyses in internationally accredited laboratories.