Posted on 11-2-2002

GE In Through Front Door
By Deborah Hope, The Australian, February 07, 2002

Note - this is Aus information, but most is relevant to NZ since ANZFA
regulates for both countries. Also note the greenpeace online action about
the Philippines, at the end of this item. You need to fill out your address
to make it work.

In reports released yesterday, the nation's food safety watchdog
recommended approval of genetically modified varieties of corn and canola,
which are likely to reach Australia's supermarket shelves as ingredients
in breakfast cereals, bread, pastries and other snack foods.

And shoppers might not be able to identify which foods contain the GM corn
and canola due to a loophole in new labelling laws introduced in December.
Under the new regulations, food products have to be labelled as containing
genetically modified food only where the changes are evident in the final
product for sale. In some processing, such as distilling canola oil from
canola, the DNA is destroyed. Because of this, said the Australia New
Zealand Food Authority's Michael Dack, the genetic modification is not
evident in the final product and escapes the labelling requirement. Dr Dack
said that only about 5 per cent of supermarket products required labelling.
But a much higher proportion might include genetically modified ingredients.

Nearly two-thirds of Australians polled on the subject 18 months ago said
they would not buy GM foods. More than 90 per cent supported laws
requiring such foods to be labelled. The corn and canola recommended for
approval have been modified to resist herbicides, and the corn, developed
by multinational Monsanto,
has also undergone genetic changes that will give it protection against
insect pests. The move brings to 22 the number of genetically modified
foods the Australia New Zealand Food Authority has recommended for approval
since July 2000. Of these, 10 have received final approval, four are
pending ministerial approval and five are under public consultation. In
seven of these cases, Monsanto has been the applicant. None of the approved
GM crops is grown in Australia.

So far only genetically altered cotton and carnations have passed the
necessary regulatory hurdles for commercial production. Final approval
means only that Australian manufacturers can import the products as
ingredients. ANZFA acting managing director Greg Roche said that on the
basis of the available evidence, the food authority believed food derived
from the two GM crops was as safe for human consumption as conventional
varieties. "I can say with some certainty that we know more about the
genetic make-up of these GM foods than any other food in the food supply,"
Mr Roche said. Judy Carman, a member of the Public Health Association's
Food, Legislation and Regulation Advisory Group, said the evidence ANZFA
required to secure approval was not sufficiently rigorous. "My position is
there is no evidence genetically engineered foods are safe, because there
is no evidence," Dr Carman said. "It's a big black box," she added.

See also abc.net.au/ra/newstories/RANewsStories_476320.htm Green Party
challenges claim by food safety watchdog

Stop Filipino president GMA from dropping a promise to label GMOs. This
cyber action only takes 1 minute - please forward to other GE food,
consumer and environmental lists worldwide and write to GMA before
14th feb (Valentines day) To send automatically go to: act.greenpeace.org