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NEW LABELLING LAWS FOR GM FOODSCOME INTO EFFECT ON 7 DECEMBER
The Australia New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA) today released a new consumer pamphlet - Genetically Modified Foods - explaining the new labelling rules for genetically modified (GM) foods which come into effect on Friday 7 December 2001 (text attached).
From that date, GM food products on sale in Australia and New Zealand - either as a whole food or as an ingredient - must have their GM status identified if modified genetic material or protein is present in the final food. Highly refined sugars and oils will not need to be labelled if there is no modified genetic material in the final food. There are minor exemptions to this requirement, such as some GM additives and processing aids.
The pamphlet will be available in Australia from Coles, Woolworths and some independent supermarkets, from the Gene Technology Information Service (GTIS) and from ANZFA offices.
ANZFA' s Managing Director Ian Lindenmayer said that over the past year, many manufacturers have indicated an intention to use ingredients made from conventional rather than genetically modified crops. Consumers may therefore not find many products labelled as GM foods on 7 December.
Mr Lindenmayer said GM foods that do not identify the GM ingredients on their labels, which were produced and packaged prior to 7 December, can remain on the shelves until used up, but for no longer than 12 months.
However, because turnover of food products in supermarkets is normally rapid, only a small proportion of unlabelled GM foods should be on the shelves for more than a month or two.
' Under the current food standards, no genetically modified food will be permitted on the market in Australia and New Zealand unless it has passed a stringent scientific risk assessment by ANZFA and been found to be at least as safe as its conventional equivalent food,' Mr Lindenmayer said.
The new labelling regulations will be enforced by each State and Territory and by the New Zealand Government.
More information: ANZFA website at www.foodstandards.gov.au or www.foodstandards.govt.nz
Genetically Modified Foods
What are genetically modified or GM foods?
Genetically modified foods come from crops and other food sources that have been modified by a technique called gene technology. This technique allows food producers to alter more precisely certain characteristics of a food crop by introducing genes from another source. An example of this is a corn plant with a gene that makes it resistant to insect attack.
Genes and proteins can also be introduced into a food crop from other species. All foods contain genes and many genes are identical, even across species.
Why have GM foods been developed?
Farmers have altered crops by selectively breeding them to obtain certain characteristics for thousands of years - for example, the cultivation of modern wheat from wild grasses. Gene technology speeds up the process by identifying the genes that produce these selected traits and introducing them into the desired crop.
The first wave of GM crops, grown in the 1990s, has largely given benefits to farmers - crops that are resistant to insect attack or are tolerant to certain herbicides. This has resulted in significantly less insecticide being used. The next advance will be to provide direct benefits to consumers. For example, gene technology will be able to remove allergens from foods or improve their nutritional value. A vitamin A-enriched rice called Golden Rice has already been developed.
Are GM foods being sold in Australia?
Yes. Some of the packaged foods in supermarkets contain GM ingredients derived from approved GM commodity crops of cotton, corn, canola, soybean, sugar beet and potato. They appear as ingredients in many foods.
Cotton - considered a food because the oil can be consumed - is the only GM food commodity approved to be commercially grown in Australia. The other GM commodities are imported. No fresh GM vegetables, fruit, meat, fish or other agricultural products are sold in Australia.
Are they safe?
All GM foods intended for sale in Australia and New Zealand must be subjected to a pre-market safety assessment by the independent government food regulator - the Australia New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA) - and approved by a council of Australian and New Zealand health ministers. No GM food will be allowed onto the shelves unless it has gone through the safety assessment process.
What about the long-term effects of GM foods?
Some foods containing GM foods from commodity crops have been in the marketplace in Australia for about five years. They have been in the food supply of other countries, such as the United States and Canada, for much longer. In that time, there has been no case reported worldwide of a GM food causing an adverse effect on human health [OECD Conference on the Scientific and Health Aspects of Genetically Modified Foods, February 2000].
How can I tell if I'm buying a GM food?
From 7 December 2001, subject to certain exemptions, GM food products on sale in Australia and New Zealand - either as a whole food or as an ingredient in a processed food - must have their GM status identified if introduced genetic material or protein is present in the final food. This identification will appear on the packaging label or near the food if it is unpackaged.
So, a typical ingredients list for a food containing a GM ingredient could be:
Ingredients: wheat flour, water added, yeast, soya flour (genetically modified), vegetable oil, sugar, emulsifiers (471, 472E), preservative (282), enzyme amylase.
Are all GM foods covered by these labelling regulations?
Wherever a GM ingredient, additive or processing aid is present in the final food, the food must be labelled. Some GM ingredients may be used in the manufacturing process, but do not appear in the final food and these do not need to be labelled. Some ingredients derived from GM plants - such as sugars, oils and some GM additives and processing aids - may have been refined to the extent that there is no residual genetic material or protein of the source plant in the final product. Again, no special labelling is required.
Another exemption to the labelling requirements in processed foods are GM flavours, which are allowed to be present up to a level of one part in a thousand in the final food without being identified as GM.
Foods prepared from GM ingredients, additives and processing aids, but sold unlabelled at the point of sale for immediate consumption - e.g. restaurants, hotels and take-aways - are also exempt from labelling requirements.
What about GM foods already in stock on 7 December?
GM food products manufactured and packaged on or after 7 December 2001 must be labelled according to the requirements. GM foods already in stock before that date can remain on sale for 12 months. This means that a small minority of foods, which have both low rates of turnover and long ' use by' or ' best before' periods, can remain on the shelves until used up - but no longer than the 12 month period.
What if I choose to avoid GM foods?
The new labelling requirements for GM foods have been introduced to help you make informed choices about the food you buy. Increasingly, we are being offered food produced by a range of methods and technologies - e.g. organic, conventional agriculture, genetically modified.
GM labels on foods will allow you to make that choice at the time of purchase.
The mandatory labelling system will help you select from products manufactured after 7 December 2001. If you are unsure about the GM-status of a product, you can contact the manufacturer directly - usually through a toll-free number on the label - to find out.
Australia New Zealand Food Authority
ANZFA' s role is to protect the health and safety of people in Australia and New Zealand by maintaining a safe food supply. ANZFA is a partnership between the Commonwealth Government, Australia' s State and Territory governments and the New Zealand Government.
As an independent expert body, ANZFA is responsible for developing and reviewing food standards for both Australia and New Zealand and, for Australia only, for coordinating national food surveillance; enforcement and recall arrangements; conducting research; developing policies for imported food; and developing codes of practice.
ANZFA also works closely with the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service to ensure imported food is safe.
Need more information?
You can find details of the new regulations for labelling GM foods on the website of the Australia New Zealand Food Authority at www.foodstandards.gov.au or www.foodstandards.govt.nz or by contacting ANZFA by phone in Australia on 02 6271 2222 or in New Zealand on 04 473 9942.
General information on gene technology can be obtained from the Gene Technology Information Service (GTIS) on 1800 631 276. GTIS has been established by Biotechnology Australia to promote community understanding of gene technology.
Biotechnology Australia is the Commonwealth Government Agency responsible for non-regulatory biotechnology issues, and comprises the Departments of Industry, Science and Resources; Health and Aged Care; Environment Australia; Education, Training and Youth Affairs and Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry - Australia. www.biotechnology.gov.au