Who makes sure our food, including GM food, is safe?
It is the role of Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) to ensure that all food, including GM food, is safe and that safety guidelines are based on strict standards. All GM foods intended for sale in Australia and New Zealand are subjected to a pre-market safety assessment by FSANZ. No GM food will be allowed onto the shelves unless it has gone through the safety assessment process and been approved for sale and consumption by FSANZ. By law, all companies, both from Australia and overseas, must comply with Australian regulations before they can sell any GM food products in Australia. Using specifically-developed guidelines, information supplied by companies, and scientific literature, FSANZ scientists assess the characteristics of GM foods to determine if they have been altered in any way that might make them less safe. The benchmark used by FSANZ for an acceptable level of safety is generally determined by its conventional (non-GM) counterpart. (www.foodstandards.gov.au).
