Who is responsible for regulating Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and GM products in Australia?

jasonmajor — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 05:04:14 +0000

Who is responsible for regulating Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and GM products in Australia?

In many instances people are unaware that Australia even has regulators checking this stuff. But we do and the main one involved in assessing the safety of GMOs are listed below.

The Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR)

The OGTR provides administrative support to the Gene Technology Regulator in the performance of their functions under the Gene Technology Act 2000.

OGTR administers a national scheme for the regulation of genetically modified organisms in Australia to protect the health and safety of Australians and the Australian environment by identifying risks posed by gene technology, and by managing those risks through regulating certain dealings with GMOs. (http://www.ogtr.gov.au/)

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ)

FSANZ is an independent statutory agency established by the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991. Working within an integrated food regulatory system involving the governments of Australia and the New Zealand Government, FSANZ set food standards for the two countries. All genetically modified foods intended for sale in Australia and New Zealand must undergo a safety evaluation by FSANZ.

(www.foodstandards.gov.au)

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)

ACCC administers the Trade Practices Act (1974) and the Prices Surveillance Act (1983), to protect consumers from unfair trading, and false, misleading, and deceptive conduct. (www.accc.gov.au)

Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS)

AQIS develop policies and procedures relating to incoming passengers, mail, animals and plants, that have quarantine significance. This includes genetically manipulated products imported into Australia that may pose a pest and disease risk. (http://www.aqis.gov.au/)

The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA)

APVMA is responsible for the system which evaluates, registers and regulates agricultural and veterinary chemicals. (www.apvma.gov.au)

Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)

TGA is responsible for administrating the provisions of the Therapeutic Goods Act (1989), which provides a national framework for the regulation of therapeutic goods in Australia to ensure their quality, safety and efficacy. GM pharmaceuticals are addressed under this system. (www.tga.gov.au)

Are GM foods safe?

jasonmajor — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 04:57:49 +0000

This is one of the more common questions, but one of the more difficult ones to answer as a person needs to define for themselves what they mean by safe. Also, each GM crop or food needs to be assessed on a case-by-case basis as they each have potentially different technology behind them, have different traits and therefore different potential risks and benefits, depending on the environment they are grown in.

Second, on that definition of safe, how safe must your food be before any potential risks become acceptable. There is no such thing as zero risk and all foods have some risk attached to eating them. The acceptability of risk will change from person to person.

One should also compare the potential risks of eating a GM food with those of eating a conventionally-bred food. For example, two commonly used conventional breeding techniques, mutagenesis and embryo rescue, involve mixing and mutating genes. This can produce a host of unknown toxins, allergens and anti-nutrients in equally unknown concentrations. What effect these changes may have on human health is often unknown. But we continue to eat this food.

So you need to compare the risks and benefits (and there are scientific, economic, agronomic and social risks and benefits) and work out how acceptable you find the risks. From there you need to define for yourself if a particular GM food is safe – or acceptable.

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Who is responsible for regulating Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and GM products in Australia?