The decision on labelling of genetically modified foods, made in Wellington today by Health Ministers from New Zealand and Australian State and Territory Government, will give some certainty to consumers and industry about food labelling, Senator the Hon Grant Tambling, Australian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health, said today.

"It was pleasing to see the States and Territories moving towards the Commonwealth position in a lot of areas, which reflects the decision of their Cabinets which have taken a whole-of-Government approach to this important issue.

"However, I am disappointed that the decision today will require industry to test or determine whether DNA is present in the areas of highly refined ingredients, processing aids, food additives and flavourings.

"The Commonwealth's position would have allowed blanket exemptions whilst still delivering world's best practice information to consumers.

"The new regulations will impose a financial cost on industry and this will be reflected in the cost of food to consumers."

Senator Tambling said the Commonwealth will now be talking with stakeholders to assess the impact on costs and d export competitiveness as a result of the new labelling regulations.

The proposed regulation:

Requires labelling of food and food ingredients where novel DNA and/or protein is present in the final food;

Requires labelling of food and food ingredients where the food has altered characteristics;

Exempts from these requirements:

highly refined food where the effect of the refining process is to remove novel DNA and/or protein;

processing aids and food additives except those where novel DNA and/or protein is present in the final product;

flavours which are present in a concentration of less than or equal to 0.1% in the final food; and

food prepared at the point of sale. The Standard allows an ingredient to contain up to 1% of unintended presence of genetically modified product.

The Council also endorsed the principle of due diligence and verifiable documentation (such as an audit trail) or testing for compliance purposes and noted that the protocol for compliance will elaborate on those processes used to produce highly refined food. This will mean that manufacturers will not have to test individual batches of foods produced using such recognised practices.

"We all recognise the call from consumers for information and the interests of consumers are a high priority for all of us," Senator Tambling said.

"Safety is addressed at world-best-practice level through the safety assessment work of the Australia New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA).

"This is a very complex issue that encompasses the need to inform consumers, health and ethics, effective scientific assessment processes, and trade and job implications."

Senator Tambling said ANZFA would be consulting closely with all parties to ensure a reliable system for both consumers and industry.

Media Contact: Peter McMahon, Senator Tambling's office 0419 691 443
Kay McNeice, Dept Health and Aged Care 0412 132 585