Posted on 1-9-2003

Baby Product Contains Over 1 per cent GE

An unnamed baby food product was found to contain more than the acceptable
level of 1 per cent of genetically engineered (GE) material, in a recent
audit of over 100 products.

The Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) and Environmental Science and Research
(ESR) tested 117 products and found 18 of them contained GE material. Of
those 18, one contained more than the 1 per cent acceptable level of GE.
The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code requires that foods
containing approved genetically engineered ingredients be adequately labelled.

Green MP and anti-GE campaigner Sue Kedgley demanded Health Minister
Annette King identify all the unlabelled items found to contain between 0.2
per cent and 0.3 per cent GE soy, saying parents had a right to know what
was in their child's food. Ms King said she did not have a list of the
products, which were identified in the NZFSA report on the audit as infant
formula.

NZFSA director of policy and regulatory standards Carole Inkster said the
products found to contain GE were imported. "We did 117 tests altogether,
103 of those were just surveillance testing where we targeted soy and corn
products as potentially the high risk products for GE content," she told
NZPA. "As we were going through manufacturing and processing businesses, if
we were not comfortable with the systems that were in place to identify the
source of material or whatever, then we took statutory samples at that time
and we took 14 of those. "Of those 117, there were 18 that were positive
(for GE). All but one was under the (1 per cent) threshold. That product
was slightly over and was withdrawn and relabelled correctly, and we
understand, put back out onto the shelves."

Ms Inkster did not identify what the product was.

Ms King said yesterday two of 117 products tested did not comply with
regulations and both had claimed to be GE-free. One was a tofu vegetarian
sausage sold in an organic shop and the other was a smoked sausage. Both
were referred to the Commerce Commission under the Fair Trading Act. Ms
King said the labelling regime was established in 2000 with an undertaking
that it would be reviewed after three years. The review started earlier
this month.

In a statement on the NZFSA website, compliance and investigation director
Geoff Allen said the audit showed there was a "high level" of compliance
with GE labelling and that there were "no genetically modified food or
ingredient in New Zealand that is not allowed to be here". The audit also
looked at 231 manufacturers and 38 importers and whether or not they were
complying with the standards in the code. About 29 per cent of
manufacturers and 37 per cent of importers did not have enough
documentation from their suppliers on the status of GE in their
ingredients. Six per cent of manufacturers and 26 per cent of importers
were unable to provide any evidence of activity to determine the GE status
of their food products.

- NZPA