Voluntary GM-Free Labelling
April 2003
Previous Page / Table
of Contents / Next
Page
3.What Are the Boundaries within
Which a Labelling System Can Be Developed?
Summary
This section identifies the legislative environment in
which a labelling system will operate. The main considerations
are:
- The Commerce Commission's interpretation of
"GM-free" under the Fair Trading Act 1986 does
not allow the use of any GM ingredient, or genetic
modification process, in the production of a food or food
product.
- Both the Commerce Commission and the Food Standards
Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) recommend that suppliers
ensure that they can provide documentary evidence to
verify "GM-free" claims.
- Suppliers exporting food labelled as "GM free"
will need to consider the fair-trading and food-labelling
laws in the country to which they are exporting.
3.1 Overview
Any voluntary GM-free labelling system will need to be
developed within New Zealand's legislative environment -
including legislation governing fair-trading practices and
specific legislation dealing with food that has been
genetically modified. The effects - and possible constraints -
of these two legislative streams are discussed in the next two
sub-sections.
3.2 Fair Trading Act 1986
The Fair Trading Act 1986 prohibits misleading and
deceptive conduct intrade. The Act does not require the
mandatory disclosure of information about food - its purpose
is to ensure that information disclosed by suppliers is not
misleading or deceptive. More detailed information on the Act
is provided in Appendix
Two.
To ensure that suppliers do not mislead consumers when
disclosing information, they should be aware that under the
Act:
- it is the overall impression created by labelling that
should be considered - small print or disclaimers to
qualify the representation on a label may not be
sufficient to change the consumer's overall impression of
a label
- disclosing information that is misleading will, even if
unintentional, be in breach of the Act.
Under the Act, the Commerce Commission[5]
has interpreted "GM-free" as the absence of any GM
ingredient or genetic modification production process in a
food or food product. This interpretation has not been tested
in court, although it is consistent with the interpretation of
"GM-free" by the Australian Competition and Consumer
Commission.
Under the Fair Trading Act, the term "free" has
been interpreted as being absolute (that is, the material
described as free cannot be present at any level in the
product, and the product cannot in any way result from the
described process). This applies equally to the terms
"no" and "non".
The Commerce Commission has made a recommendation to
suppliers that, to avoid risking a breach of the Act, they
should not claim that a food, or food product, is GM-free
unless it can be traced back to a "GM-free" source
and process. This is because it is difficult to test whether a
food contains GM material (particularly at low levels and in
highly processed foods), and almost impossible to test whether
a food results from a genetic modification process.
Within this legislative context, some suppliers are already
looking to fill the "information gap" by making
GM-free claims. Examples of the types of products and claims
being made are listed in Appendix
Three.
3.3 Food Standard 1.5.2
Standard 1.5.2, of the Joint Australia New Zealand Food
Code, requires food that contains genetically modified DNA or
protein to be labelled, although there are certain exemptions
from these requirements (see the third paragraph below in this
sub-section). This means that a food, food ingredient, food
additive, and food-processing aid or flavouring that contains
genetically modified DNA or protein must be identified on the
label as being "genetically modified". Food is
sometimes processed in such a way as to remove all GM DNA or
protein (for example, oils and sugars processed from GM
plants). If a food is processed in this way and it does not
have altered characteristics, then it does not need to be
labelled.
The Standard also requires food that has altered
characteristics to be labelled. This means that if food is
significantly different from its non-GM counterpart with
respect to allergenicity, toxicity, nutritional impact or end
use, it must be identified on the label as being
"genetically modified". For example, soybeans can be
modified so that their oil is higher in oleic acid than oil
from non-GM soybeans. This oil would need to be labelled, even
if no GM material was present in the finished product.
There are three exemptions from these labelling
requirements. One is for flavourings making up less than 0.1%
of a final food. The second is for an ingredient that
unintentionally contains GM material, but which is less than
1% of that ingredient. And the third is for food for immediate
consumption - for example, that sold in take-away outlets,
restaurants and cafes, and self-catering establishments.
The provisions of the Standard do not extend to
"negative labelling" - that is, to claim that a
product is "GM-free", or non-GM. (Negative here
refers to the absence of material; it is not a qualitative
reference to the merits of a product or process). But the user
guide to the Standard recommends[6]
that for those suppliers who want to make "GM-free"
claims:
- greater diligence may be required to support negative
labelling than the positive labelling currently required
by Standard 1.5.2
- negative labelling claims must be able to be supported
to ensure they comply with fair trading legislation.
The Standard and its labelling requirements can be found on
the Food Standards Australia New Zealand internet site.[7]
3.4 International Issues
The international legislative environment has implications
for those New Zealand businesses that may wish to market their
foods overseas as "GM-free". Under the Trans Tasman
Mutual Recognition Agreement, "GM-free" labelled
food exported to Australia, which can be legally sold within
New Zealand, can also be legally sold in Australia. For other
export markets, New Zealand suppliers will need to be aware of
the interpretation of GM-free in the importing country, and
the relevant provisions of that country's fair-trading laws.
Further information on the international issues that need
to be considered when developing a labelling system is
provided in Appendix
Four.
|
![[To this page's content]](../../../images/transparent.gif){kind=small}
