Regulation and labelling of GM foods

According to Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code

• Prohibits the use of additives, processing aids and nutritive substances in food unless there is a specific permission for these substances following a safety asssessment.
• Prohibits the use of novel foods, irradiated foods and foods produced using gene technology unless there is a specific permission for these foods following a safety assessment.
• Specifies maximum limits for contaminants and natural toxicants in food
• Establishes microbiological and processing requirements for food
• Specifies the composition and labelling requirements for many commodities.

According to Standard 1.5.2-Food Produced Using Gene Technology, of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code regulates food derived from GM plants, animals or microorganisms. - It does not apply to GM food additives or processing aids, which already overed by other food standards.

Any GM foods (or ingredients derived from them) that are listed in Standard 1.5.2 have passed the safety assessment and approval process, and can therefore be sold in Australia and New Zealand, and used to make other foods.

Safety assessments of GM foods

Under Standard 1.5.2, GM foods must be assessed for safety, and only those found to be safe are approved for sale. FSANZ is responsible for carrying our safety assessments of GM foods on behalf of the Australian Government, the state and territory governments of Australia, and the Government of New Zealand. In doing so, FSANZ takes a cautious approach because, even though most GM foods are derived from foods with a long-established history of safe human consumption (such as corn and soybean), the GM versions are new to the diet.

Labelling of GM foods

Standard 1.5.2 also contains provisions for the labelling of GM foods-these provisions have been in effect since December 2001. The safety of a GM food is assessed before it can be sold as food: therefore, the purpose of labelling is simply to provide information to consumers, allowing them to purchase or avoid GM foods depending on their own views and beliefs. The GM food labelling regulations, which are among the most stringent in the world, represent a balance between the needs of consumers and what governments can realistically enforce.

Under Standard 1.5.2, if a food, food ingredient, additive or processing aid contains novel DNA or protein that has come from an approved GM food, it must be labelled with the words 'genetically modified'. Labelling regulation also cover GM foods that differ in composition to the conventional counterpart; in this case, he labelling must make claer to consmers the altered characteristics of the food.

There are some exemptions to the labelling requirements for GM foods. Foods that do not need to be labelled as 'genetically modified' include highly refined foods that contain no DNA or protein (for example, oil made from GM soy beans), and foods in which GM ingredients are present accidentally and make up lessthan 1% of the final food.

Role of other agencies

In Australia and New Zealand, FSANZ is not the only government agency involved with the regulation of GM microorganisms, plants, and animals and their products. As shown in Table 2.1, the responsibilities of other agencies cover broader issue than food safety, such as the environment, quarantine and the registraion of agricultural chemicals. Where products require the approval of several agencies, the agencies coordinate with one another.