Esther J Kok

• PhD
• Head of Department at Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority - NVWA

Digital Twins are computational representations of both living and non-living entities and processes, which can be used to analyse and simulate interventions in these entities and processes. When developing Digital Twins, it is important to anticipate on the societal, ethical and safety impacts they may have. Since in the agri-food domain Digital T...

Background Various databases on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) exist, all with their specific focus to facilitate access to information needed for, e. g., the assistance in risk assessment, the development of detection and identification strategies or inspection and control activities. Each database has its unique approach towards the subjec...

The present paper proposes the application of the safe-by-design concept to crop breeding innovation with the aim to accommodate safety considerations for new agricultural food and feed products. Safe-by-design can be implemented in all stages of the innovation cycle of agricultural products, from the early stages of research and development toward...

Petunia plants with unusual orange flowers were noticed on the European market and confirmed to be genetically modified (GM) by the Finnish authorities in spring 2017. Later in 2017, inspections and controls performed by several official laboratories of national competent authorities in the European Union detected several GM petunia varieties with...

In the original publication, the starting point in time for the three feeding trials.

Genetic modification techniques, in particular novel gene editing technologies, hold the yet unfulfilled promise of altering genetic traits in farm animals more efficiently than by crossbreeding, allowing for a more rapid development of new cattle breeds with distinct traits. Gene editing technologies allow for the directed alteration of specific t...

p>This document discusses recent developments in cloning of husbandry animals through somatic cell nuclear transfer, particularly with a view on improvements in their efficacy. Commercial developments in North and South America, Australia-New Zealand, and China are noted. The regulations and safety aspects surrounding the use of clones and their of...

•MinION DNA metabarcoding is a promising tool for species identification in food.•MinION and Illumina MiSeq sequencing platforms perform equally accurate.•Species identification with MinION sequencing requires dedicated bioinformatics.

Gene editing and other innovative plant breeding techniques are transforming the field of crop biotechnology. Divergent national regulatory regimes worldwide apply to crops bred with these techniques. A plea is made for international harmonization of the premarket assessment of their safety. Such harmonization has previously been achieved for genet...

In 2012, a controversial study on the long-term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and the glyphosate-tolerant genetically modified (GM) maize NK603 was published. The EC-funded G-TwYST research consortium tested the potential subchronic and chronic toxicity as well as the carcinogenicity of the glyphosate-resistant genetically modified maize NK603 by...

Background: For the safety assessment of new plant varieties most countries have adopted a basically process-triggered legislation where the techniques applied in the plant breeding strategy determine the procedure for market approval. In other countries, there is a more product-based legislation where the characteristics of new plant varieties det...

Traditional medicines (TMs) are globally traded and the consumer market is estimated to be $83 billion per annum. The diversity of TM matrices and poor quality of DNA extracted from highly processed TMs makes it challenging to apply standardized DNA-based procedures for ingredient analysis. In the present study, multiple DNA extraction methods were...

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

Most regulations worldwide stipulate that a new genetically modified (GM) crop event has to be compared to its closest non-GM counterpart as a corner stone of the pre-market risk assessment. To this end the GM crop and its comparator should be grown in field trials for a phenotypic comparison as well as for subsequent detailed analysis of the compo...

The objective of this study was to quantitatively assess potato omics profiles of new varieties for meaningful differences from analogous profiles of commercial varieties through the SIMCA one-class classification model. Analytical profiles of nine commercial potato varieties, eleven experimental potato varieties, one GM potato variety that had acq...

At the beginning of the year, the advocate general of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued an opinion that plants created using new plant breeding techniques, including gene-editing platforms like CRISPR, TALENs and the like, are eligible for the so-called mutagenesis exemption. This exemption relates to rules the European Union...

The development and commercialization of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and its related products have been increasing in the last two decades. This challenges the currently applied time-consuming and expensive qPCR screening procedure from a practical perspective, due to the necessity to develop and validate additional targets at a regular p...

Genetically modified (GM) maize and their non-modified counterparts were compared using MON810 varieties, the only GMO event cultivated in Europe. The differences in grain samples were analysed by omics profiles, including transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics. Other cultivated maize varieties were analysed as a reference for the variability...

Genetisch gemodificeerde organismes (ggo’s) zijn kwalitatief en kwantitatief op te sporen met PCR, sequentie-analyse en droplet digital PCR. Dat geldt voor zowel de goedgekeurde als de niet tot de Europese Unie toegelaten plantaardige en dierlijke producten. Nieuwe technieken als Crispr-Cas maken de toekomst diffuus, al lijken bestaande technieken...

The majority of feed products in industrialised countries contains materials derived from genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In parallel, the number of reports of unauthorised GMOs (UGMOs) is gradually increasing. There is a lack of specific detection methods for UGMOs, due to the absence of detailed sequence information and reference materials...

Background: DNA metabarcoding provides great potential for species identification in complex samples such as food supplements and traditional medicines. Such a method would aid CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) enforcement officers to combat wildlife crime by preventing illegal trade of enda...

Background: DNA metabarcoding provides great potential for species identification in complex samples such as food supplements and traditional medicines. Such a method would aid CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) enforcement officers to combat wildlife crime by preventing illegal trade of enda...

Background: DNA metabarcoding provides great potential for species identification in complex samples such as food supplements and traditional medicines. Such a method would aid CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) enforcement officers to combat wildlife crime by preventing illegal trade of enda...

Detection of horse DNA by loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) seems one of the most promising methods to meet the criteria of fast, robust, cost efficient, specific, and sensitive on site detection. In the present study an assessment of the specificity and sensitivity of the LAMP horse screening assay was made and outcomes were compared w...

The Decathlon project has brought together a broad range of experts and expertise to jointly work on the development of new or improved methods that are needed in the field of 1) food pathogens, 2) traceability of GMOs and 3) customs issues. The project has developed advanced methods for all three application areas with method characteristics that...

The import and use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is strictly regulated in the European Union. In order to maintain the legislation on GMOs, a genetic element screening is generally applied as a first step to detect authorised as well as unauthorised GMOs. Subsequent identification of GMOs that relate to the detected elements is performed...

In most countries, systems are in place to analyse food products for the potential presence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), to enforce labelling requirements and to screen for the potential presence of unauthorised GMOs. With the growing number of GMOs on the world market, a larger diversity of methods is required for informative analyses...

Background: Rodent feeding trials are frequently applied to assess the safety of genetically modified

This article contains data related to the research article entitled “A case study to determine the geographical origin of unknown GM papaya in routine food sample analysis, followed by identification of papaya events 16-0-1 and 18-2-4” (Prins et al., 2016) [1]. Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) with targets that are putatively present in geneticall...

The GRACE (GMO Risk Assessment and Communication of Evidence; www.grace-fp7.eu) project was funded by the European Commission within the 7th Framework Programme. A key objective of GRACE was to conduct 90-day animal feeding trials, animal studies with an extended time frame as well as analytical, in vitro and in silico studies on genetically modifi...

Draft recommendations of the Scientific Steering Committee of the European Commission - Milan Food Expo 2015

Final report of the Scientific Steering Committee of the European Commission for Milan Food Expo 2015

During routine monitoring for GMOs in food in the Netherlands, papaya-containing food supplements were found positive for the genetically modified (GM) elements P-35S and T-nos. The goal of this study was to identify the unknown and EU unauthorised GM papaya event(s). A screening strategy was applied using additional GM screening elements including...

This letter specifically addresses the question on how to evaluate whole GM food/feed feeding trials. It does so by proposing a list of key quality criteria for the evalua- tion of 90-day and extended feeding trials with whole food/ feed derived from GM plants. The proposed quality crite- ria should be taken into account when evaluating a feeding...

Since their introduction in 1994, more and more genetically modified (GM) crops are grown worldwide and introduced in food or feed products. In the European Union (EU), the production, trade and marketing of GM products is strictly regulated, but the situation is becoming more complex due to the increasing number and complexity of GM crops, and asy...

Species identification using DNA barcodes has been widely adopted by forensic scientists as an effective molecular tool for tracking adulterations in food and for analysing samples from alleged wildlife crime incidents. DNA barcoding is an approach that involves sequencing of short DNA sequences from standardized regions and comparison to a referen...

The emergence of high-throughput, massive or next-generation sequencing technologies has created a completely new foundation for molecular analyses. Various selective enrichment processes are commonly applied to facilitate detection of predefined (known) targets. Such approaches, however, inevitably introduce a bias and are prone to miss unknown ta...

Proteomics methodology has seen increased application in food authentication, including tandem mass spectrometry of targeted species-specific peptides in raw, processed or mixed food products. We have previously described an alternative principle that uses untargeted data acquisition and spectral library matching - essentially spectral counting - t...

With the increased global production of different genetically modified (GM) plant varieties, chances increase that unauthorized GM organisms (UGMOs) may enter the food chain. At the same time, the detection of UGMOs is a challenging task because of the limited sequence information that will generally be available. PCR-based methods are available to...

Background: Data analysis of omics data should be performed by multivariate analysis such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The way data is clustered in PCA is of major importance to develop some classification systems based on multivariate analysis, such as Soft Independent Modeling of Class Analogy (SIMCA). In a previous study, a one-class...

Before commercial release, new potato (Solanum tuberosum) varieties must be evaluated for content of toxic compounds such as glycoalkaloids (GAs), which are potent poisons. GA biosynthesis proceeds via the cholesterol pathway than to α-chaconine and α-solanine. The goal of this study was to evaluate the relationship between total glycoalkaloid cont...

Supplementary materials include two parts: Supplementary Figures 1-7 and Supplementary Tables 1-2. Figure S1 and S2 show the sensitivity test of UMPS gene using serial dilutions of genomic DNA extracted from reconstituted and unprocessed tobacco samples, respectively. Figure S3 exhibits the quality evaluation of extracted genomic DNA on 1% (w/v) ag...

Het doel van dit project is om methoden te ontwikkelen waarmee de authenticiteit (vissoort, geografische herkomst en productiewijze) van Noordzeevissen kan worden vastgesteld. In de visketens kunnen vissoorten worden vermengd of verwisseld, waardoor de vissoort of herkomst niet altijd juist op het etiket staat vermeld. Een reden hiervoor kan zijn d...

Potato (Solanum tuberosum) yield has increased dramatically over the last 50 years and this has been achieved by a combination of improved agronomy and biotechnology efforts. Gene studies are taking place to improve new qualities and develop new cultivars. Reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is a bench-marking ana...

In January 2014, an international meeting sponsored by the International Life Sciences Institute/Health and Environmental Sciences Institute and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency titled “Genetic Basis of Unintended Effects in Modified Plants” was held in Ottawa, Canada, bringing together over 75 scientists from academia, government, and the agro-...

Beschrijving van een voorstel voor een concreet co-existentiemonitoringprogramma (CMP) voor suikerbiet dat is aangepast aan de specifieke gewaseigenschappen van suikerbiet. De gemaakte keuzen t.b.v. een pragmatische invulling van het voorgestelde CMP worden in de opvolgende hoofdstukken toegelicht op basis van de huidige stand van zaken in het wete...

The present discussion document gives an overview of where European research can add the most value in relation to tackling food and nutrition security challenges and points to areas where we can expand our research potential. Moreover, it highlights the need to develop a governance structure that will allow sharing of best practices and facilitate...

The GMO Risk Assessment and Communication of Evidence (GRACE; www.grace-fp7.eu) project is funded by the European Commission within the 7th Framework Programme. A key objective of GRACE is to conduct 90-day animal feeding trials, animal studies with an extended time frame as well as analytical, in vitro and in silico studies on genetically modified...

The growing number of biotech crops with novel genetic elements increasingly complicates the detection of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food and feed samples using conventional screening methods. Unauthorized GMOs (UGMOs) in food and feed are currently identified through combining GMO element screening with sequencing the DNA flanking th...

The principles for the safety assessment of genetically modified (GM) organisms (GMOs) are harmonised worldwide to a large extent. There are, however, still differences between the European GMO regulations and the GMO regulations as they have been formulated in other parts of the world. One of these differences relates to the so-called 'stacked GM...

This annex is linked to a guidance document (Deliverable D6.1) prepared by participants of the Decathlon project. The guidance document was published late in 2014, i.e. one year after commencement of the Decathlon project. An amended version of the guidance document is planned as deliverable D6.6 to be published late in 2016 when the project termin...

The ever-increasing production of genetically modified crops generates a demand for high-throughput DNA-based methods for the enforcement of genetically modified organisms (GMO) labelling requirements. The application of standard real-time PCR will become increasingly costly with the growth of the number of GMOs that is potentially present in an in...

Abstract Nowadays most animal feed products imported into Europe have a GMO (genetically modified organism) label. This means that they contain EU-authorized GMOs. For enforcement of these labeling requirements, it is necessary, with the rising number of EU-authorized GMOs, to perform an increasing number of analyses. In addition to this, it is nec...

This commentary focuses on the potential added value of and need for (sub)-chronic testing of whole genetically modified (GM) foods in rodents to assess their safety. Such routine testing should not be required since, due to apparent weaknesses in the approach, it does not add to current risk assessment of GM foods. Moreover, the demand for routine...

This book contains 15 chapters that discuss the use of transgenic plants as animal feeds. Topics include the limitations of transgenic plants for animal nutrition; fundamentals of plant biotechnology; nutritional, safety and compositional assessment of feeds from transgenic plants; feeding studies using transgenic plants; the fate of transgenic DNA...

Traceability of food implies the ability to trace and follow a food, feed, or a food-producing animal or substance intended to be, or expected to be, incorporated into a food or feed, through all stages of production, processing, and distribution. The importance of traceability has grown due to the consumers' increasing attention to food safety and...

A sensitive, selective and generic method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of the contents (g kg −1 range) of both volatile nitrosamines (VNA) and non-volatile nitrosamines (NVNA) in processed meat products. The extraction procedure only requires basic laboratory equipment and a small volume of organic solvent. Separation and q...

This chapter presents the Co-Extra Decision Support System (DSS), a system for stakeholders involved in the food/feed supply chain who are faced with difficult decisions. The system, which has been developed through a model-driven and data-driven methodological approach, provides eight qualitative multi-attribute models that assess various aspects...

The state-of-the-art technology for detection of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is polymerase chain reaction. The targets are novel sequences such as genes, but the insertion locus sequences are also important for GMO identification. GMOs go through a series of developmental stages, in which field trials precede commercial releases. GMO deve...

The cultivation of GM crops has steadily increased since their introduction more than a decade ago. GM crops are considered a separate category of foods and feeds, for which market approval is needed in many countries, including a pre-market safety assessment. This chapter discusses the regulatory background in various countries, and the issues sur...

With the increasing number of GMOs on the global market the maintenance of European GMO regulations is becoming more complex. For the analysis of a single food or feed sample it is necessary to assess the sample for the presence of many GMO-targets simultaneously at a sensitive level. Several methods have been published regarding DNA-based multidet...

Transfer.csv. raw data for the microarray spots and the results of the statistical analysis the transfer of the PPLMD method.

Comparison protocols.csv. raw data for the microarray spots and the results of the statistical analysis of the comparison of the different ligation protocols.

Traceability of food implies the ability to trace and follow a food, feed, or a food-producing animal or substance intended to be, or expected to be, incorporated into a food or feed, through all stages of production, processing, and distribution. The importance of traceability has grown due to the consumers' increasing attention to food safety and...

The Europe Media Monitor (EMM) is a news gathering engine which is operated by the Joint Research Centre (JRC). EMM analyses news items published on the WWW, extracts relevant information, aggregates the collected information, issues alerts, and produces visual presentations of the information collected. Within the framework of the present study, w...

The authenticity of food is of increasing importance for producers, retailers and consumers. All groups benefit from the correct labelling of the contents of food products. Producers and retailers want to guarantee the origin of their products and check for adulteration with cheaper or inferior ingredients. Consumers are also more demanding about t...