One Potato, Two Potato, Three Potato…

ANZFA releases three more safety reports on GM foods

The Australia New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA) today released safety assessment reports for three genetically modified varieties of potato for public comment.

This brings to ten the number of GM foods on which full safety assessments have been completed by the Food Authority. Reports will be released in the next two months on the remaining eight foods as their assessments are completed.Of the ten commodities whose assessments have been released, Bt cotton and Roundup Ready soy have been approved for sale in Australia and New Zealand by the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Council.

Chief Scientist of ANZFA, Dr Marion Healy, said the genetic modifications to the three foods are intended to assist crop production. The foods are:

insect-protected potato;
insect- and potato leafroll virus-protected potato; and
insect- and potato virus-Y protected potato.

‘When the regulations governing GM foods came into effect in May 1999, GM foods already on supermarket shelves were allowed to remain under certain conditions, including a requirement that food manufacturers provide a package of scientific information to enable ANZFA to make safety assessments’, Dr Healy said.

‘The other important criteria were that the food must already have been cleared for human consumption in another country and that there must be no scientific basis for concern about its safety.

Other than foods covered by these transition arrangements, no GM food will be permitted to be sold in Australia and New Zealand unless it has passed the ANZFA safety assessment.

‘GM foods which pass this assessment have all the benefits of the conventionally produced food with no additional risks,’ Dr Healy said.

Dr Healy said ANZFA scientists pay particular attention to the toxicity, allergenicity and nutritional value of the GM foods and they have to be satisfied that the genetic modification will not lead to adverse health outcomes.

To date, ANZFA has found no evidence that GM foods are less safe than their conventionally produced counterparts – a finding supported by food agencies around the world.

“The safety assessment reports for these three GM foods have been posted on the ANZFA website at www.foodstandards.gov.au and copies can also be obtained directly from ANZFA’, Dr Healy said.

‘Interested parties have eight weeks to provide evidence-based comment, which could include bringing new scientific information to ANZFA’s attention.’

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