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13. Are GM foods safe?
It takes at least eight years of research, trials and tests for a GM food item to go from the laboratory to the supermarket.
GM foods are tested more rigorously than conventional foods. In Australia, if a product of gene technology is destined for human consumption, it has to be assessed against a rigorous set of standards and approved by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ).
14. Am I eating GM foods now?
Foods, flavourings or ingredients derived from six GM crops may be available in Australian food products. The six crops are soybeans, corn, cotton, canola, potato and sugar beet. Only GM cotton is produced commercially in Australia, and the amount of GM potatoes and sugar beet being produced globally is currently minimal. Food products made from these crops include soy drinks, canola oil, corn flour, snack foods, processed foods, and vegetable oils.
15. How do I know what I am eating?
Since 2001, a labelling system has been in place in Australia and New Zealand to help consumers identify foods with GM ingredients.
Generally, if genetic material or protein from the genetic modification is present in the final food, it will be identified in the ingredient panel of the label.
Consumers will be able to recognise new GM foods as they become available, and make purchasing decisions based on this knowledge.
Labelling is not required for flavourings or the accidental presence of GM content below one per cent. Take away food and food in restaurants does not require labelling.
16. Do GM foods contain allergens or toxins?
All GM products are tested for any potential allergens and toxins during the research and assessment phase.
The most talked about example of allergens and GM foods, is an American research project that involved putting a gene from a Brazil nut into a soybean to make it more nutritious. Testing during the development phase revealed that people with known allergies to Brazil nuts would have suffered reactions to the GM soy. The work was stopped immediately, and the modified soybean was never marketed.
A GM product is allowed to contain the same allergens as its conventional counterpart. For example, the allergens in a conventional peanut may still be present in a GM peanut (if one was ever developed).
In the future, gene technology has the potential to remove allergens from foods, for example removing gluten from wheat.
17. Once foods have been modified do we really know what we are eating?
Most GM foods have only one modified characteristic, or at most two. Often the modified characteristic applies to the plant itself, and has little if any effect on the finished product. The focus of gene technology is to make slight changes to improve existing products, not create complete new ones.
The GM food labelling system allows consumers to identify foods with GM ingredients.
Generally, if genetic material or protein from the genetic modification is present in the final food, it will be identified in the ingredient panel of the label. In the future, any GM fruit and vegetables in the marketplace will need a statement about the gene technology status of the food displayed on the food itself or in connection with the food.
18. What is ‘substantial equivalence’?
The term ‘substantial equivalence’ is used in relation to food safety testing. It refers to the practice of comparing GM foods to their non-GM counterparts, in order to test their safety.
A GM food item will be regarded as safe if it provides ‘substantially equivalent’ molecular, compositional and nutritional data results to its conventional counterpart.
Both the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Health Organisation (WHO)/Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) have embraced this concept of 'substantial equivalence' as part of the safety assessment process. When this equivalence can only be partially achieved or not achieved at all, then further tests are conducted.
19. Haven’t lab rats died from eating GM potatoes?
In 1998, Dr Arpad Pusztai, a scientist working in Scotland, claimed that GM foods could have dangers that were not revealed during testing.
Dr Pusztai’s experiments involved feeding GM potatoes to rats. The rats were found to have lowered immune systems and smaller organs than rats on a normal diet.
The GM potatoes, produced for the experiment only, were not intended for human consumption. The potatoes contained added proteins that were already known to cause problems in animal and human immune systems.
Independent reviews of Dr Pusztai's experiments, raised serious doubts about the conclusions reached, and found no reason to doubt the effectiveness of GM food testing.
20. If a cow feeds on a GM crop, does it affect the cow or its milk and meat?
Studies have shown that animal growth, milk composition and health are equal, whether the animal is fed GM or non-GM feed. Further research has also shown that because animal feed is broken down during digestion, plant proteins have not been detected in by-products such as milk, meat or, in the case of poultry, eggs.
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