This article describes the nutrient and elemental composition, including residues of herbicides and pesticides, of 31 soybean batches from Iowa, USA. The soy samples were grouped into three different categories: (i) genetically modified, glyphosate-tolerant soy (GM-soy); (ii) unmodified soy cultivated using a conventional "chemical" cultivation regime; and (iii) unmodified soy cultivated using an organic cultivation regime. Organic soybeans showed the healthiest nutritional profile with more sugars, such as glucose, fructose, sucrose and maltose, significantly more total protein, zinc and less fibre than both conventional and GM-soy. Organic soybeans also contained less total saturated fat and total omega-6 fatty acids than both conventional and GM-soy. GM-soy contained high residues of glyphosate and AMPA (mean 3.3 and 5.7 mg/kg, respectively). Conventional and organic soybean batches contained none of these agrochemicals. Using 35 different nutritional and elemental variables to characterise each soy sample, we were able to discriminate GM, conventional and organic soybeans without exception, demonstrating "substantial non-equivalence" in compositional characteristics for 'ready-to-market' soybeans.

This paper presents results of a collaborative trial study (IUPAC project No. 650/93/97) involving 29 laboratories in 13 countries applying a method for detecting genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food. The method is based on using the polymerase chain reaction to determine the 35S promoter and the NOS terminator for detection of GMOs. Reference materials were produced that were derived from genetically modified soy beans and maize. Correct identification of samples containing 2% GMOs is achievable for both soy beans and maize. For samples containing 0.5% genetically modified soy beans, analysis of the 35S promoter resulted also in a 100% correct classification. However, 3 false-negative results (out of 105 samples analyzed) were reported for analysis of the NOS terminator, which is due to the lower sensitivity of this method. Because of the bigger genomic DNA of maize, the probability of encountering false-negative results for samples containing 0.5% GMOs is greater for maize than for soy beans. For blank samples (0% GMO), only 2 false-positive results for soy beans and one for maize were reported. These results appeared as very weak signals and were most probably due to contamination of laboratory equipment.

The herbicide Roundup is sprayed onto genetically modified crops and applied as a desiccant to most small nongenetically modified grains. Use of this herbicide has increased since 1994 when genetically modified crops were introduced in the United States. Glyphosate, the primary ingredient in the herbicide, is found in these crops at harvest. 1 Environmental exposure through dietary intake of these crops has potential adverse health effects and can be assessed by measuring urinary excretion. [2][3][4] We measured excretion levels of glyphosate and its metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) in participants from the Rancho Bernardo Study (RBS) of Healthy Aging.Methods | The RBS, established in 1972, is a prospective study of 6629 adults older than 50 years residing in Southern California. 5 As of 2016, approximately 1000 participants were active (the primary reason for loss to follow-up was mortality). Of those 1000 participants, 112 had routine morning spot urinary biospecimens obtained at each of 5 clinic visits that took place from 1993 to 1996 and from 2014 to 2016. One hundred of these 112 were randomly selected for this study, which was approved by the University of California, San Diego, institutional review board. All participants gave written informed consent.Samples were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Limits of detection (LOD) were 0.03 μg/L for glyphosate and 0.04 μg/L for AMPA; assays were linear up to 50 μg/L. Analyses were normalized to each sample's specific gravity, thereby accounting for dilution or concentration effects due to variability in water intake and age-related or other differences in renal function. Changes over time in the proportion of samples above the LOD were assessed using generalized estimating equation models to account for the dependency of observations in repeated measures. A 2-sided significance threshold was set at less than .05. Statistical analyses were performed using R (R Foundation), version 3.3.2.

Nitrosopyrrolidine (NO‐Pyr) formation in bacon is primarily dependent on frying temperature and not time. Cooking methods affect the amount of NO‐Pyr formed: pan frying produces the highest level of NO‐Pyr with variable concentrations formed on baking, broiling and cooking in a “baconer.” Microwave oven treatment produced the lowest amount of NO‐Pyr. A model system study of the decarboxylation of nitrosoproline shows this precursor, which may be present in bacon, is maximally converted to NO‐Pyr at 185°C near the recommended temperature for frying.

Toxoplasma gondii and Chlamydophila abortus are the 2 most common infectious causes of ovine abortion worldwide. These obligate intracellular pathogens are associated with severe placentitis leading to abortion or stillbirth in pregnant ewes, and resulting in significant economic losses. The objectives of the current study were the development, validation, and application of a duplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay capable of quantifying the burden of infection by T. gondii and C. abortus in material submitted for diagnostic purposes. The validation was carried out using samples from ewes experimentally infected with these organisms. Based on the numbers of genome copies detected, an arbitrary cutoff level was established to correlate with significant pathological changes sufficient to give rise to abortion. When the PCR assay was applied to samples from 66 Irish farms with naturally occurring outbreaks of ovine abortion, toxoplasmosis and enzootic abortion of ewes (EAE) accounted for 14% and 20% of the farms, respectively, while on 6% of the farms, there was evidence of dual infection. When standard diagnostic techniques including histopathological examination, serological analysis, chlamydial antigen detection, and bacteriological culture, were used on samples from the same farms, toxoplasmosis was diagnosed in 17% of farms, and EAE in 12%; dual infection was diagnosed on 3% of the farms. In general, good agreement was found between the PCR and the standard methods. The duplex real-time PCR assay developed in this study has proved to be a very sensitive and rapid tool that might provide a valuable addition to the methods currently available for routine diagnosis of ovine abortions.