GM crops sneak into 43 varieties of food we eat

Natasha Bita, Consumer editor

The Australian

DOZENS of crops genetically engineered to survive herbicide spray are being used in Australian food without the knowledge of consumers.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand has approved 43 varieties of genetically modified canola, corn, potato, rice, soybean and sugarbeet for human consumption.

But food items do not have to be labelled as GM if the ingredients are highly processed into oils, starches or sugars.

Meat, milk or eggs produced from animals fed GM crops do not have to be labelled either.

Food Standards has given the green light to a new strain of GM canola and is considering a new application for GM soybeans to be used in Australian food.

The regulator has ruled that GM canola produced by global agribusiness Monsanto is “considered to be as safe for human consumption as food derived from conventional canola cultivars”.