The W.A. government has said the national food standards for labelling must improve, with Australia’s standards on GM food labels, in particular, lower than in China.
Changes are being demanded to labelling practices so consumers can read whether their food contains GM ingredients.
Commercial GM crops are still banned in Western Australia, and Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry, Kim Chance said Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) must lift its game.
“In China, not only is labelling compulsory, it is also a requirement on the provincial governments that they test the compliance with the labelling system,” he said.
“So they go in and take food off the shelves and run it through their testing process to make sure that there is nothing on the shelves in that label product which isn’t disclosed on the label.
“We don’t have that in Australia.”
For further information contact:
Kim Chance
Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry
kim-chance@dpc.wa.gov.au