Friday 7 May 1999

20 GM CROPS TO UNDERGO RIGOROUS SAFETY ASSESSMENTS: ANZFA

The Australia New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA) announced today that 20 genetically modified crops are undergoing rigorous safety assessments.

These are crops which have been covered by applications from biotechnology companies seeking approval for their inclusion in foods sold in Australia and New Zealand. The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Council (ANZFSC) required that unless applications were lodged by 30 April, such foods could no longer be marketed in Australia and New Zealand from 13 May 1999, until they have gone through a food safety assessment which will take approximately one year.

Crops such as corn, cotton, canola, sugar beet, potatoes, and soybeans are covered by the applications (see attachment). ANZFA has already completed safety assessments for Roundup Ready soybeans and Ingard cotton seed.

All of these applications have met three firm requirements agreed to by ANZFSC on 30 March 1999 which will enable these genetically modified ingredients to remain on the market from 13 May 1999 pending a further comprehensive assessment. The interim requirements are:

(1)    Companies must have submitted a comprehensive application for a safety assessment of their foods to the Australia New Zealand Food Authority by 30 April 1999.

(2)    The food commodity must already be on the market lawfully overseas and be considered safe by an overseas regulatory agency; and

(3)    ANZFSC must have no evidence to indicate that the food commodity is unsafe.

'Applications are examined on a case by case basis and are assessed for risks to people's health such as adverse toxic or nutritional effects or allergies, before approval is given for their use in foods,' Mr Lindenmayer said.

'We believe that these 20 applications substantially cover the genetically modified crops likely to be imported as foods into Australia and New Zealand.'

'Soy, corn and canola are the most commonly grown genetically modified crops, and so are thought to be the most likely genetically modified ingredients in food throughout the world,' Mr Lindenmayer said.

Worldwide, more than 50 crop varieties are known to have been genetically modified. However, many of these crops have not yet been developed to the point where they are ready for commercial sale. Others are not exported from the country in which they are being produced.

'If new genetically modified crops are developed, companies will need to get an application to ANZFA well before the proposed date for introduction on to the Australia and New Zealand market,' Mr Lindenmayer said.

New foods covered by applications received after 30 April will not be allowed on the market until they have been assessed for safety by ANZFA and approved by ANZFSC.

Public consultation on labelling of genetically modified food

More public consultation about the labelling of genetically modified food will begin next week in Australia and New Zealand.

The community will be asked to put forward their views on a range of issues including whether a 'may contain' label would help consumers in their shopping choices.

People wanting to make submissions on labelling are invited to read the paper,Labelling: Food Produced Using Gene Technology, which will be available late next week on the ANZFA Website , .

The Ministry of Health will conduct the labelling consultations in New Zealand. ANZFA will compile these submissions and forward a report to ANZFSC for consideration at their July meeting when they further discuss labelling of substantially equivalent foods.