Development and Performance Evaluation of a New Test Kit for Quantifying the Degree of DNA Fragmentation.

Background: PCR-based genetic testing of agricultural products and foods is widely used for detecting various analytical targets such as genetically modified organisms and food allergens. However, it is difficult to obtain accurate genetic testing results from processed foods because DNA is fragmented by heat and pressure during food processing. Thus, we previously developed an analytical method to quantitatively evaluate the degree of DNA fragmentation for the purpose of QC of genetic testing for processed foods.

Simple, Precise, and Less Biased GMO Quantification by Multiplexed Genetic Element-Specific Digital PCR.

Background: To provide the consumer with choices of genetically modified organisms (GMO) or non-GMO, official food labeling systems were established in many countries. Because the threshold GMO content values were set to distinguish between "non-GMO" and "GMO" designations, GMO content quantification methods are required for ensuring the appropriateness of labeling.

Objective: As the number of GMOs is continuously increasing around the world, we set out to develop a low-cost, simple and less biased analytical strategy to cover all necessary detection targets.