Why doesn’t FSANZ require that GM foods be tested in animals?
FSANZ considers that a scientifically-informed comparative assessment of GM foods with their conventional counterparts can generally identify any potential adverse health effects or differences requiring further evaluation. In the majority of circumstances, animal toxicity studies with whole foods are not likely to contribute any further useful information to the safety assessment and are therefore not warranted. As a consequence, FSANZ does not require that animal toxicity studies with whole GM foods be undertaken on a routine basis. FSANZ acknowledges there may be future GM applications, particularly for foods with intentional modifications to composition, where the results of animal toxicity studies may be informative. FSANZ therefore continues to assess the need for animal studies on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the nature of the genetic modification and the results of the comparative assessment. While FSANZ does not routinely require animal toxicity studies to be unde
