The Herald Sun on Sunday http://www.news.com.au/national/ GM foods escape the heat By MARY VISCOVICH 18apr99 THE May 13 deadline for genetically modified foods to be removed from supermarket shelves has been scrapped. A meeting of state and federal health ministers decided to change the guidelines amid worries that up to 500 supermarket lines would be affected. Under the new direction, the only foods to be removed on May 13 will be those whose manufacturers have failed to make an application for approval. The Australian Democrats' consumer spokesman, Senator Natasha Stott Despoja, is disappointed at the turnaround. "This is another slap in the face for consumers, who have been demanding government action on genetically modified foods," she said. Senator Stott Despoja said the Australian and New Zealand Food Standards Council, which consists of state and federal health ministers, had created interim requirements for genetically modified foods which made their sale legal, provided an application for safety assessment was lodged and the product was on sale overseas. Under what is known as the A18 Standard, which is to come into force from May 13, genetically modified foods must undergo rigorous pre-market assessment before they are approved for sale. Previously, companies had to apply to have their product assessed as safe by ANZFA before it was allowed on the market and foods which had not been assessed were to be removed from shelves by May 13. Now only an application is required by that date. Under new interim requirements companies must: Submit a comprehensive application for a safety assessment by April 30. The food must already be on the market lawfully overseas and considered safe by an overseas regulatory agency. There must be no evidence that the food commodity is unsafe. "This seems to be in response to the realisation that of the estimated 500 foods available on supermarket shelves containing genetically modified ingredients, only seven applications had been made for approval under the A18 standard," Senator Stott Despoja said. ANZFA says it has been told a total of 56 genetically modified food commodities have been approved overseas, but so far it has received applications for only seven of those. These commodities are used as ingredients in various foods and ANZFA believes they may be in up to 500 products. While Senator Stott-Despoja admitted the removal of 500 foods from supermarket shelves was not the best option, she said those companies which had flouted the law were being rewarded. The ANZFA acknowledged that biotechnology companies which create genetically modified foods had been unacceptably slow in making their applications. Spokeswoman for the ANZFA, Ms Lydia Buchtmann, said their tardiness was placing local businesses in an invidious position. "These companies already have had more than seven months to comply ... and most have not taken the the first step." However, Ms Buchtmann said the prospect of removing 500 items from supermarket shelves was unrealistic. Nic Tydens, spokesman for food manufacturer Monsanto, said: "We have to put things in their proper context. These foods have been approved by competent authorities overseas." ************************************************************************* 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
