Summary
The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of terahertz (THz) spectroscopy to discriminate genetically modified (GM) and non‐GM organisms. In this study, eighty‐four sugar beet samples (thirty‐six GM sugar beets and forty‐eight of their parents, non‐GM ones) were investigated using terahertz time‐domain spectroscopy (THz‐TDS) system between 0.2 and 1.2 THz. Discriminant analysis (DA) based on principal component analysis (PCA) was used to discriminate sugar beet samples into two classes: GM organisms (GMOs) and non‐GMOs. Study results indicate that the DA method leads to an excellent classification. A total of 95.8% of the non‐GM samples were accurately classified, and no GM samples were misclassified, as there was 100% correctness. Results of this study demonstrate that THz spectroscopy combined with chemometrics techniques can provide a fast, nondestructive and reliable method to differentiate GMOs and non‐GMOs, which avoids time‐consuming, laborious and expensive sensory and chemical analyses.