By Monique Steele of RNZ

The appetite for food made with the use of gene technologies will be tested in New Zealand amid ongoing regulatory reform and an easing of food labelling requirements.

After public consultation, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) approved updated definitions for genetically-modified (GM) food in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code in June.

In late July, Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard and his Australian counterparts decided to adopt them.

Food produced using new breeding techniques, including gene editing, will not need to be labelled as “GM” on the food label if novel or new DNA was not introduced in the process.

Simultaneously, the Government was considering a new regulatory regime for gene technologies used outside the laboratory, after it attracted 15,000 submissions during a select committee earlier this year.

GM food or GM-free: a consumer’s choice?

Hoggard told RNZ last week there was some opposition to FSANZ’s P1055 proposal during public consultation from those who “don’t believe in [genetic engineering]”.

“There was still some vocal opposition, so that was taken on board,” he said.

“Obviously, there was support from a lot of industry and scientific groups.”

Hoggard said that in removing the requirement, producers could still choose to disclose gene technologies used throughout production on the label.

“There’s nothing stopping anyone who is producing food that doesn’t have any new breeding technologies to label it as such.

“We’re not outlawing that people don’t have to put these labels on.”

He said it came down to the consumer’s choice.

“So if the organic sector, for example, doesn’t want to allow these new breeding techniques in their production, then people who also think they don’t want to consume food that’s had new breeding techniques used in them, then they can just buy organic and know that ‘okay, that hasn’t been used’.

“If this is something you’re not worried about, then just go ahead shopping as normal.

“If it is something you are concerned about, producers who will be using the old methodologies will still be able to highlight on the packaging that, ‘hey, we don’t use the X, Y and Z’ or ‘we don’t do this or that’. And you just need to go and look for that food.”

Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard says producers can still choose to disclose gene technologies and label items as such. Photo / RNZ, Angus Dreaver

Hoggard said to the best of his knowledge, no health issues had been raised from the consumption of GMO products, such as soya bean, for example.

Meanwhile, GE-Free New Zealand spokesman Jon Carapiet said the eased labelling requirements took informed choices away from the consumer.

“It’s really fundamentally unethical to take away the ordinary consumer’s choice in the supermarkets,” Carapiet said.

“It’s all about trust, and to say ‘we’re not gonna even trust you to make your own decisions anymore’... is really wrong.”

He said the assertion that shoppers concerned about GM food would simply buy organic food instead was “disingenuous”.

“The average consumer certainly can’t afford to go and buy organics on an everyday basis. I wish they could, but they can’t,” he said.

“So to say all the ordinary people of New Zealand don’t deserve the right to choose, I think that’s very wrong.”

Carapiet said supermarkets could ask their suppliers to disclose the use of gene technologies throughout production to ensure transparency and to inform shoppers about the product they were buying.

“I think that in the coming months, if this does go ahead, companies will have to go above and beyond the food authority standards.

“If the food authority FSANZ says ‘no, you can have GM crops and GE foods unlabelled in the supermarket’, then it’s going to be for the supermarkets to voluntarily label it.”

Supermarkets commit to compliance

In a written statement, a Foodstuffs spokesperson said it took food safety “very seriously” and complied fully with the Australia and New Zealand Food Standards Code, including all labelling requirements.

“Customers have the right to know what’s in the food they’re buying,” they said.

“As part of our supplier agreements, we require partners to disclose country of origin information, and any environmental or social claims must be accurate and substantiated.”

They said the same approach applied to food made using gene technologies, including GM ingredients.

“Any changes to regulation in this space will be carefully reviewed, and we’ll continue to ensure our labelling provides customers with accurate and transparent information, so they can make informed choices.”

A Woolworths New Zealand spokesperson said it will make sure its retail items comply with labelling rules.

“If the labelling rules in New Zealand change, then we would ensure all products comply with labelling requirements,” they said.

– RNZ