The following letter was sent to:
Senator The Hon. Kay Patterson
Minister for Health and Ageing
270 Clayton Road
The
Hon Warren Truss MP
PO
Box 283
Maryborough
QLD 4650
The Hon Iemma Morris MP
NSW Minister for Health
Level 30, Governor Macquarie
Tower
1 Farrer street
The
Hon Ian Macdonald MLC
Parliament
House
Macquarie
St
Sydney
NSW 2000
PO
Box 155
Golden
Sq VIC 3555
The Hon Bronwyn Pike MLA
Minister for Health and Aged Care VIC
Melbourne VIC
3003
The Hon Wendy Edmond MLA
Minister for Health QLD
GPO Box 48
Inala
QLD 4077
The Hon Lea Stevens MP
Health Minister S.A.
PO Box 1046
Elizabeth Vale
S.A. 5112
The Hon Paul Holloway MLC
Parliament House
North Terrace
Adelaide SA 5000
The Hon. Bob Kucera MLA
Minister for Health
10th floor
Dumas House
2 Havelock Street
Hon Kim Chance MLC
11th Floor
Dumas House
2 Havelock St
West Perth WA 6005
The Hon David Llewellyn MP
Minister for Health and Human Services
Level 1, Public Building
Franklin Square
Hobart TAS
7000
The Hon Bryan Green MLA
GPO Box 44
Hobart TAS 7001
The Hon Jane Aagaard MLA
Minister for Health & Community Services,
Darwin N T
0801
The Hon Paul Henderson MLA
PO Box 41104
Casuarina NT 811
Mr Simon Corbell MLA
Minister for Health A.C.T.
GPO Box 1020
The
Secretariat
Food
Regulation Standing Committee
Department
of Health and Ageing
GPO
Box 9848
Canberra
ACT 2601
The Institute of Health and Environmental Research Inc.
PO
Box 155, Kensington Park SA, 5068.
Senator The Hon. Kay Patterson
Minister for Health and Ageing
270 Clayton Road
Dear
Minister
I
am writing to you on behalf of the Institute of Health and Environmental
Research Inc. Amongst our Directors, we
have expertise in plant genetics, plant breeding, agriculture, human nutrition,
the investigation of outbreaks of disease, public health and medicine.
We wish to congratulate the recent decision of the Australia New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council to proceed with a review of the labelling of genetically modified food. We understand that the review is to include a review of legislation in place around the world and that the Food Regulation Standing Committee (FRSC) has been asked to develop terms of reference and advice on the scope of the review.
We
have a strong interest in genetically modified food, and considerable expertise
in the area. We are therefore
requesting to have input into the draft terms of reference before they are
finalised.
One
of the matters we wish to have placed in the terms of reference is the
labelling of those foods that are currently unlabelled. These include the following ingredients or
foods:
·
Highly
refined, for example, cooking oils, sugars, starches
·
Made
from animals fed with GM feed, for example, meat, milk, eggs, honey
·
Prepared
at point of sale, for example at bakeries, restaurants and takeaways
·
“Unintentionally”
contaminated by up to 1% per ingredient
·
GM
flavours present at less than 0.1%.
·
Processing
aids or food additives using GM microbes
We are also concerned about the lack of policing of the existing labelling laws, and wish to have the matter of better policing placed in the terms of reference. This is of particular concern as it appears that Starlink corn may have entered the human food chain in Australia, even though it was not permitted for human consumption here or overseas. The lack of policing prevents Australia from determining the exposure of our population to it. The lack of policing also permits manufacturers to attempt to “get away” with not labelling GM ingredients, which reduces the public’s confidence in the food supply.
The lack of labelling and policing are also serious impediments to being able to undertake investigations into whether GM foods may be causing ill-health in people. This is because any investigation would require investigators to determine the type of GM foods people have been eating and the amount of these foods. A lack of accurate labelling prevents accurate replies to these types of questions.
I
look forward to your response.
Yours
sincerely
Dr
Kate Clinch-Jones
Director
Institute
of Health and Environmental Research Inc.