The Sydney Morning Herald http://www.smh.com.au/news/9903/31/text/national1.html MPs approve sale of untested food Date: 31/03/99 By DEBORAH SMITH Australia has approved the continued sale of as many as 500 genetically engineered foods which have not yet passed local safety tests. Health ministers from Australia and New Zealand gave the foods the go-ahead last night despite attacking the "unacceptably slow" response of international biotechnology companies to apply for assessment of their products. It means foods containing untested genetically engineered ingredients, including some baby cereals, pasta sauces, tinned vegetables and chocolates, which had been due to become illegal on May 13, will now be able to stay on the market while their safety is assessed. The multinational companies which produce genetically engineered foods had known since last July that their products had to gain Australian safety approval by mid-May. The 10 Federal, State and Territory health ministers said the international biotechnology companies had placed local businesses in an "invidious position". The option of stripping these foods from supermarkets in Australia was not favoured because of the disadvantage it would cause Australian food manufacturers and small businesses. On the recommendation of the Australia New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA), the ministers gave interim approval from May to genetically engineered foods which meet three criteria: a safety application has been lodged before the end of April; the food is on sale overseas and has been approved as safe by an overseas regulatory authority; and there is no evidence it is unsafe. The ministers said no foods would be allowed on the market if there were any doubts about their safety. Safety assessments would be made as soon as possible. Consumer and conservation groups criticised the change to the standard. Consumer Food Network co-ordinator Mr Dick Copeman said it would cause consumers to lose confidence in the regulation of food safety. "The health and safety of consumers must come before the interests of recalcitrant multinational corporations that believe they are not bound by the law of Australia," he said. The director of the Gene-Ethics Network, Mr Bob Phelps, said the changes were an invitation for companies to lodge an application and then flood the market with their products. "They will enjoy immunity from prosecution while ANZFA considers whether their food is safe or not," he said. He also warned that approval by an overseas authority was not always an assurance of safety. There are 56 genetically engineered food ingredients available overseas, which could be present in Australian food ingredients such as oil, thickener, starch or milk solids. Only two firms, Monsanto and AgrEvo, have applied to ANZFA for safety approval for seven of the 56 foods. ANZFA has approved two as safe: Roundup Ready soybeans and Ingard cottonseed oil. The regulatory affairs officer for AgrEvo, Ms Naomi Stevens, said before last night's decision that extra time for safety assessment of foods would be welcome. AgrEvo only submitted its application for herbicide tolerant canola to ANZFA three weeks ago because it had taken months to complete the application. The ministers deferred a decision on the labelling of genetically engineered foods. This material is subject to copyright and any unauthorised use, copying or mirroring is prohibited. ************************************************************************* This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
