Current Policies Regarding GM Foods
The introduction of GM foods for consumption in Australia is relatively recent as technology used to develop these GM foods has only recently made significant advances. Therefore, as these advances occur policies must be made to ensure that the technology is regulated and that it is used appropriately.
The current laws on GM foods are tightly regulated by the Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) under Standard 1.5.2. This standard details mandatory pre-market approval as well as mandatory labelling. This ultimately means that any GM foods must undergo assessment for safety and be appropriately labelled with the words ‘genetically modified’ to indicate that the food contains GMOs. Additionally, the Gene Technology Act (2000) which is overseen by the Office of Gene Technology Regulator controls GMOs in Australia. This act was created in order to regulate activities involving gene technology.
The following list below includes all of the current GM crops approved by FSANZ.
- Soybean
- Potato
- Wheat
- Rice
- Canola
- Sugarbeet
- Lucerne
- Safflower
- Corn
- Cotton
For a full list of all modifications allowed in Australia please follow this link: http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/gmfood/applications/pages/default.aspx
References:
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/gmfood/gmoverview/Pages/default.aspx
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