Labelling Genetically Modified Foods
On 28 July 2000, the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Council (ANZFSC) agreed to new labelling rules for genetically modified (GM) foods. ANZFSC comprises the Health Ministers from the Commonwealth, New Zealand and the States and Territories of Australia.
What are the new labelling rules for GM foods?
The new food standard will require the labelling of food and food ingredients where novel DNA and/or novel protein is present in the final food. It also requires labelling of food and ingredients where the food has altered characteristics.
Exempt from these requirements are:
- highly refined food, where the effect of the refining process is to remove novel genetic material and/or novel protein;
- processing aids and food additives, except where novel genetic material and/or novel protein is present in the final food;
- flavours which are present in a concentration less than or equal to 0.1 per cent in the final food; and
- food prepared at point of sale (eg restaurants, hotels, take-aways).
The new standard allows any one ingredient in a food to contain up to 1 per cent of genetically modified material where its presence is in the ingredient is unintended.
What are highly refined foods, processing aids and additives?
In general, highly refined ingredients - such as sugars and oils - have been subjected to heating and other processes which remove genetic material and protein in the food.
Processing aids are usually pure substances used in processing of raw materials, foods or ingredients, to fulfil a technological purpose during processing. They are normally not present or active in the final food. An example is the use of the enzyme chymosin to curdle milk in the preliminary steps of cheese manufacture. Chymosin is usually neutralised during later stages of cheese manufacture.
Food additives are generally pure substances added to foods, usually in very small quantities, to improve taste, appearance, texture, storage life and other qualities. An example is the addition of ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) as an antioxidant in fruit juices.
When will the new labelling rules come into effect?
A draft standard based on the ANZFSC decisions is being considered by all Ministers. Subject to their final endorsement, it is hoped to gazette it to give it legal status in September 2000. To give food manufacturers and importers time to ascertain the status of their products and revise their labels, the new standard will take effect twelve months from gazettal - that is, in September 2001.
However, consumers will notice the introduction of labels on food containing GM ingredients progressively during that twelve-month period. Some manufacturers may decide to introduce negative labelling in that period, indicating that food ingredients have been obtained from non-GM sources.
What will the labels look like?
Genetically modified ingredients within a food will be identified in the ingredients panel of the label. For example, a loaf of bread containing GM soy flour and GM maize would identify these ingredients with the words 'genetically modified' in the ingredient list. Single-ingredient GM foods, such as a packet of GM soy beans, will require the words 'genetically modified' to appear against the name of the food on the front of the packet.
How many processed foods on supermarket shelves will be affected by the new labelling regime?
This is very hard to estimate. Ingredients made from genetically modified commodities - such as canola, potato, corn, sugar beet, soy and cotton - are used throughout the food industry and can also occur in imported foods. Some manufacturers may choose to replace GM ingredients with non-GM counterparts. The extent to which this will happen cannot be anticipated.
How do Australia's and New Zealand's labelling requirements for GM foods compare with overseas?
Australia and New Zealand now have one of the most rigorous and progressive labelling requirements for GM foods in the world. They are slightly more stringent than those of the European Union, previously the benchmark for GM labelling legislation. The new standard will not require labelling for GM foods sold by restaurants and take-away businesses. In such situations consumers have the right to ask the proprietor what is in the food being purchased and whether it is from a GM source.
Japan has a threshold of 5 per cent GM content, above which labelling is required. The United States and Canada do not require the labelling of GM foods which have the same properties and characteristics of the conventionally produced counterparts.
How can I avoid GM foods?
The ANZFSC Ministers made it clear that the labelling of GM foods was not a safety issue, rather an initiative to give consumers the information necessary to make informed choices. However, some people may have ethical, environmental, religious or other reasons to avoid GM foods.
The new labelling requirements will help such people make buying decisions. Consumers can also look for the 'GM free' labels which some manufacturers may place on their foods. And, of course, consumers should contact food manufacturers directly if they have any queries about the GM content of foods in the supermarket.
'GM free' means just that - no GM ingredient, additive or processing aid has been used in the food. The exemptions from positive labelling do not permit a GM-free label to be carried on the food.
While restaurants and take-away businesses are exempt from the new labelling rules, proprietors should know the nature of their ingredients and consumers have the right to ask what is in the food being purchased and whether it is from a GM source.
Will foods with GM labelling cost more?
Industry will incur costs in complying with the new labelling laws as they will be required to obtain documentation from their suppliers and/or test the GM nature of their ingredients and to change the labels appropriately. While industry may be able to absorb a part of these costs, some costs may be passed onto consumers. In addition, consumers searching for GM-free foods may have to pay a premium to cover the costs by manufacturers of testing their ingredients and complying with the new labelling rules.
What about the long-term safety effects of GM foods?
GM foods are required to undergo a safety assessment by the Australia New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA) before they are permitted to be sold in Australia and New Zealand. The assessments rigorously examine the allergenicity, toxicity and nutritional value of GM foods to determine whether they are different from conventionally produced food. To date, all GM foods submitted for assessment have been found to have all the benefits of the conventionally produced foods and no additional risks.
Companies wishing to market GM foods and ingredients are required to provide scientific information to ANZFA, obtained from audited laboratories, to enable the safety assessment of the GM commodity to take place. This is standard regulatory practice around the world and is similar to that required by the Therapeutic Goods Administration in Australia for the approval of new drugs for release.
Some people have expressed concerns about the long-term effects of genetically modified foods. They have asked why ANZFA does not carry out long-term human trials.
Unlike drugs, food is not a single chemical substance ingested at a concentration known to have a clinical effect in the human body. Food breaks down in the digestive system, making it difficult to follow the effects of different components on human health. There is no credible scientific evidence indicating that GM foods have had an adverse effect on health anywhere in the world, even though they have been in the food supply for more than a decade.
The GM component in a normal varied diet is very small and analyses of long-term effects need to be carefully structured to determine impacts.
A government agency in the United Kingdom has recently announced that it intends to conduct a feasibility study based on long-term monitoring of the health of people in a survey involving possibly millions of individuals. The exercise is being conducted in association with a major supermarket chain. ANZFA is monitoring these developments closely.
Gene Technology Information Service - phone 1800 631 276
August 2000
Copies of other ANZFA fact sheets can be obtained from the FSANZ web site at http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/ or from the Information Officer, Australia New Zealand Food Authority at:
Food Standards Australia New Zealand
Australia PO Box 7186 Tel +61 2 6271 2222 | New Zealand PO Box 10559 Tel +64 4 473 9942 |