The USDA Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) began evaluating rapid test kits for the detection of the Cry9C protein in (StarLink) corn toward the end of 2000 to help markets make more informed decisions about grain beingtraded. By the end of 2001, GIPSA had evaluated rapid test kits (including Envirologix, Inc.'s QuickStix kit, Strategic Diagnostics, Inc.'s Trait Bt9 kit, and Neogen Corporation's Agri-Screen for Cry9C strip test) for the detection of StarLink corn in grain. GIPSA concluded that the performance of these kits met the diagnostic test kit manufacturers' claims of identifying one StarLink corn kernel in an 800-kernel sample of grain. Over the last several months, the diagnostic test manufacturers have introduced more new kits - these to determine the Roundup Ready trait in corn and soybeans. The emphasis has been on speed and accuracy. Strategic Diagnostics, Inc. (SDI), Newark, Del., for example, announced a protein-based strip test method for the detection of NK603 Roundup Ready corn last October. The method uses the company's existing TraitCheck RUR Test Strip and has been validated by SDI to detect one kernel of NK603 mixed with 200 negative kernels. "The availability of the method provides farmers, grain handlers and food processors a tool for consigning grain to meet the expectations of their customers and ensure appropriate distribution of NK603," reported SDI. NK603 is approved for use in food and feed in the US and Japan, but not in the EU.
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