New GM labelling laws come into force

AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND – New labelling laws in New Zealand and Australia require food processors to clearly label products containing genetically modified ingredients.

If a GM ingredient, additive or processing aid is present in the final food it must be clearly identified on the packaging label or near the food if it is unpackaged. However, the law is subject to exemptions. For example, certain oils and sugars that are used in the manufacturing process but are refined to such an extent that no residual genetic material appears in the final food, will not need to be labelled. GM flavours, which are allowed to be present up to a level of one part in a thousand in the final product, are also exempt.

All GM foods intended for sale in Australia and New Zealand are subject to a pre-market safety assessment by the independent government food regulator Australia New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA) and approved by a council of health ministers. ANZFA managing director Ian Lindenmayer said that over the past year many manufacturers have shown a commitment to conventional rather than genetically modified crops. On that basis, he believes that there will be few GM labelled products on supermarket shelves.