Food safety and quality
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OECD Unique Identifier Commodity Traits Latest entry uploaded on
MON-89Ø34-3 Corn / Maize Lepidoptera resistance 14/06/2013
MON-941ØØ-2 Canola / Oilseed rape / Rape Seed Dicamba tolerance 03/08/2021
MON-95379-3 Corn / Maize Insect resistance 16/02/2023
MON-Ø1445-2 Cotton Glyphosate tolerance,Kanamycin resistance 13/06/2013
MON-Ø4Ø32-6 Soyabean / Soybeans Glyphosate tolerance 27/06/2013
MON-ØØ163-7 Alfalfa / Lucerne Glyphosate tolerance 17/06/2013
MON-ØØ1Ø1-8 Alfalfa / Lucerne Glyphosate tolerance 30/01/2014
MON-ØØ531-6 Cotton Kanamycin resistance,Lepidoptera resistance 14/06/2013
MON-ØØ6Ø3-6 Corn / Maize Glyphosate tolerance 14/06/2013
MON-ØØ757-7 Cotton Kanamycin resistance,Lepidoptera resistance 14/06/2013

Focal Point Information

E-mail:
Country:
Australia
Organization/agency name (Full name):
Food Standards Australia New Zealand
Contact person name:
Website:
Physical full address:
Level 4, 15 Lancaster Place, Majura Park ACT 2609, Australia
Phone number:
+61 2 6271 2222
Fax number:
+61 2 6271 2278
Country introduction
Summary:

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is the regulatory agency responsible for the development of food standards in Australia and New Zealand. The main office (approximately 115 staff) is located in Canberra (in the Australian Capital Territory) and the smaller New Zealand office (approximately 10 staff) is located in Wellington on the North Island.

Framework
Regulatory framework:
My country has a regulatory framework that requires the competent authority to conduct safety assessment of GM food.
Structure for GM food safety assessment:
My country has competent authority, agency, organization, ministry, department, committee, commission or a system/mechanism that is tasked to conduct or review GM food safety assessment.
Supplemental information:

The Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 establishes the mechanisms for the development and variation of joint food regulatory measures and creates FSANZ as the agency responsible for the development and maintenance of a joint Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code). The Code is read in conjunction with corresponding NZ and State & Territory food legislation as well as other appropriate legislative requirements (e.g. Trade Practices; Fair Trading). Within the Code, there are two relevant legislative instruments : Standard 1.5.2 - Food produced using Gene Technology provides definitions, conditions for the sale of food produced using gene technology and labelling requirements; Schedule 26 lists approved GM foods.

Applicants seeking to have a GM food approved, request a variation to Schedule 26 to have the GM food (from a particular line) included. Only those GM foods listed in the Schedule can legally enter the food supply. An Application Handbook provides information that is required to make an application to vary the Code. This Handbook is a legal document and therefore the specified mandatory information must be supplied. The Handbook also provides an Additional Information section for GM foods, that gives further details and background information on the data needed for the safety assessment of GM foods. The assessment process must be completed within a statutory timeframe (9 - 12 months depending on the complexity of the application) and involves at least one public consultation period. All GM applications involve an Exclusive Capturable Commercial Benefit i.e. applicants are required to pay a fee (outlined in the Application Handbook). Following the last public consultation, an Approval Report is prepared and is considered by the FSANZ Board who make a decision about whether the requested variation to the Code should be approved or not. The Board's decision is then passed on to the Legislative and Governance Forum on Food Regulation (the Forum), a committee comprising senior government Ministers from Australia and NZ. This Committee has approximately 2 months to review the Board's decision. If the Board's approval is accepted by the Forum, the approval is then gazetted and becomes law.

 

Contact details of the competent authority(s) responsible for the safety assessment and the product applicant:

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) (http://www.foodstandards.gov.au)

Assessment
GM food safety assessment guidelines:
My country follows the relevant Codex Guidelines or national/regional guidelines that are in line with the Codex Guidelines in conducting safety assessment of GM food.
Conduct of GM food safety assessment:
My country regularly conducts food safety assessment of GM food.
Supplemental information on the implementation:
Stacked events
Regulation of stacked events:
Others
Supplemental information on the stacked events:

FSANZ does not: Separately assess food from stacked event lines where food from the GM parents has already been approved; Mandate notification of stacked events by developers; Notify the public of stacked event ‘approvals’; List food derived from stacked event lines in the Code, unless the stacked event line has been separately assessed as a single line e.g. Application A518: MXB-13 cotton (DAS-21023-5 x DAS-24236-5)

No separate approval or safety assessment is necessary for foods derived from a stacked GM line that is the result of traditional breeding between a number of GM parent lines for which food has already been approved. Food from the parent lines must be listed in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. The parent lines may contain any number of different genes. If food from any of the GM parent lines has not been approved, then a full pre-market safety assessment of food from the stacked line must be undertaken.

No separate approval is required for food derived from a line that is the product of a GM line, for which food has been approved, crossed traditionally with a non-GM line.

Where a single line containing a number of genes has been produced as a result of direct gene technology methods (rather than traditional crossing) then food derived from the line must undergo a full pre-market safety assessment before approval can be given

Production and trade
GM food/feed production:
My country produces GM food or feed for commercial and research purposes.
GM food/feed imports:
My country allows imports GM food or feed upon authorization.
Supplemental information on the production and trade:
LLP/AP incidents
LLP/AP incidents:
My country has not faced any LLP/AP situations in the last 10 years.
Supplemental information on the LLP/AP incidents:
Labelling requirement
Labelling requirement:
My country has a mandatory and positive labeling regulation on GM food (i.e., It contains GMO).
Supplemental information on the Labelling requirement:
Relevant links to documents and information prepared by the competent authority responsible for the safety assessment
Other relevant documents:
Country information last modified:
03/09/2021