Important work!
Would you like to help keep GE soy out of New Zealand?
FSANZ (Food Safety Australia New Zealand) is calling for submissions on Dow Agrochemical 3 herbicide tolerant soybean application A1073.
GE Free NZ have made a joint submission with MADGE Gene Ethics you can read on their site. There is also a proforma with suggested wording that you can cut and paste, change to use your own words and send by 6th December. Have a look HERE and see what you can do.
Please tell your friends as well as sending a submission.
Here is Lisa Er’s submission based on the GE free example but personalised as her own. It is always best to change the example slightly so it doesn’t look as if you have completely copied.
E-mail to the address below with ‘submission’ in the subject line.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand submissions@foodstandards.gov.au
Name
Address
Phone
Re: Application A1073 – Food derived from herbicide-tolerant soybean line DAS-44406-6
Dear FSANZ,
I request that FSANZ withdraw the application A1073 until the requisite safety tests have been
conducted. As a consumer I need to know if the GM DAS 4406-6 will be safe for me and my family to eat.
I am extremely concerned that you have been misleading in saying that you have fully
assessed, along the best scientific grounds, the safety of this food.
I now know that there are NO feeding studies conducted on the soybean or any components of the whole food.
Without this information there is no way that FSANZ can carry out its risk assessment onA1073
therefore it is inappropriate to approve genetically engineered Soybean DAS44406-6 (tolerant to three Dow herbicides).
I support the submission made by GE free NZ as written here.
http://www.gefree.org.nz/assets/-A1073-GE-Free-NZ-Submission-.pdf
I note that Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) values and responsibilities are to protect,
the health and safety of people in Australasia and New Zealand through the maintenance of a safe
food supply using the best available sciences and evidence to guide decision making and being
responsive to the issues raised by others, to enable better consumer choice by undertaking dietary
exposure modelling and scientific risk assessments on GM foods.
Based on a reading of the assessments on A1073 that are provided on your website I believe that
you have fallen short of your duty of care in relation to this application. The soybean line contains
novel genes that have never been considered by FSANZ.
FSANZ has not followed its legislated, Codex or OECD guidelines for risk assessment over
significant changes of nutrient, protein, carbohydrates and anti nutrients in A1073.
Applicant information provided on safety is insufficient for assessment & approval into the food
chain.
There have been no feeding studies to show if there is risk from novel DNA or pesticides
applied to the whole soybean, A1073 (DAS 44406-6 event).
There is a lack of scientific data necessary to protect and maintain a safe food supply for the
health and safety of people in Australia and New Zealand.
The reliance on the applicant’s data has not shown impartiality, openness and accountability.
FSANZ has not provided information to consumers that will enable better consumer choice.
Over the last year there have been some highly concerning studies published in relation to safety,
(Seralini. G-E., Clair. E., Mesnage. R., Gress. S., Defarge. N., Malatesta. M,. Hennequin. D. and de
Vendomois. JS. (2012) Long term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically
modified maize. Food and Chemical Toxicity Vol: 50, (11) 4221–4231) that highlight the potential of
real danger from A1073 components.
Yours sincerely
