Description of infographic - How the CFIA tests for GM wheat
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has developed a test to detect the specific herbicide-tolerant genetically modified (GM) wheat that was found on an access road in Alberta.
The following steps describe how the CFIA tests for GM wheat:
- collect samples of wheat seed and grain
- lab receives samples for testing
- wash, triage and prep samples (as required)
- split each sample received into 12 sub-samples
- between each sample and each sub-sample, everything (including equipment) is cleaned
- grind each sub-sample separately
- extract DNA from each sub-sample
- test for GM trait in wheat (Test for this GM wheat specifically)
GM wheat detected: the sample is confirmed to be positive for herbicide-tolerant GM wheat. Testing stops.
No GM wheat detected: the sample is confirmed to be negative for herbicide-tolerant GM wheat. Testing stops.