Molecular biological testing

When conducting quality control, allergens present in food must be identified. Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on the provision of food information to consumers lists 14 substances and products that cause allergies or intolerances and must be indicated on the label. These allergens are: cows' milk, eggs, fish, crustaceans, gluten-containing cereals (wheat, oats, barley, rye), tree nuts (hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, macadamia nuts, pistachios, Brazil nuts, almonds), peanuts, soybeans, celery, sesame, mustard and its products, lupin, molluscs, and sulfites, where their concentration is not less than 10 mg/kg.

It is estimated that some food products are allergenic for more than 2% of adults and about 4–8% of children. To ensure food safety, fast, sensitive, and reliable methods for detecting and quantifying allergens in food are needed — methods that can be routinely applied in production companies or by food safety and quality control institutions. Analytical methods used to detect allergens must be effective at assessing not only raw materials, but also semi-finished and finished products, as well as the environment and rinse water.

J.S. Hamilton laboratory offers quantitative and qualitative allergen testing, performed using accredited testing methods.

The most commonly genetically modified crops are soybeans, corn, rapeseed, rice, and cotton. The main traits conferred on transgenic plants are herbicide or insect resistance. J. S. Hamilton Poland Sp. z o.o. carries out testing of food products and animal feed to detect genetically modified organisms, in accordance with European Union law. Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1829/2003 requires labeling of all food products and animal feed that contain, consist of, or are produced from GMOs. It has been established that the GMO labeling threshold is 0.9% (EC Regulation No. 49/2000). If the GMO content in a product does not reach this threshold, it is considered adventitious or technically unavoidable, and does not need to be indicated.

To detect and quantitatively assess GMOs, the real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method is used. This method consists of the following stages:

1. Initial GMO screening (qualitative method — detection of DNA fragments used for genetic modification):
   • double screening (detection of the 35S promoter and NOS terminator);
   • triple screening (detection of the 35S promoter, NOS terminator, and 34S FMV promoter);
2. Identification of specific GMOs (qualitative method — identification of soybean GMO, corn GMO, rapeseed GMO, and other varieties);
3. Quantitative assessment of specific GMOs.

It is estimated that of all foodborne pathogens causing illness, about 67% are caused by viruses. Their infectious doses are very low (10–100 virions). Food products can become contaminated with enteric viruses at every stage of production — cultivation, harvesting, transport, purchasing, packaging, preparation, or delivery to the consumer. Products are most often contaminated through contact with infected individuals involved in distributing or preparing the food. When detecting viruses in food, the greatest attention should be paid to applying new molecular biology methods and methodological improvements. As viral infections caused by consumption of frozen fruit increase in number, J. S. Hamilton laboratory has developed testing methods that make it possible to detect norovirus and hepatitis A virus in frozen food products and in fruit and vegetable products. Rotavirus testing is also offered.

Under current legislation, food products must be labeled in a way that does not mislead the consumer. This requirement covers information indicating the food product's properties, including its name, type, characteristics, composition, quantity, shelf life, origin or provenance, production methods, and other properties. For meat products, the name should indicate the species of animal from which it was made. This information allows the consumer to identify the food product and distinguish it from other products. All ingredients used must be indicated in the product's composition declaration.

Molecular biology tools — polymerase chain reaction (PCR) — are used to determine meat species. Identification is based on establishing the DNA sequence characteristic of a specific meat species. This modern real-time PCR is a highly sensitive analytical tool, capable of quantitatively assessing adulteration and the use of undesired meat species, even when their proportion is as low as < 0.1%.