Greenpeace is demanding that Food Standards Australia New Zealand follows the lead of other countries by banning several genetically modified crops from the human food chain.
The demand comes after Austria banned the import of the GM maize variety, MON 863, produced by Monsanto, because of human health concerns.
The decision follows the release last year of a peer reviewed study, which revealed evidence of liver and kidney toxicity in rats fed the maize.
However, Greenpeace said that the same maize variety has been approved for consumption in Australia by the national food regulator, Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ), and is currently present in food products in Australia.
“It is appalling that Australian consumers are eating products which have been banned in other countries because of health concerns,” Greenpeace genetic engineering campaigner, Louise Sales, said.
“FSANZ should take urgent action to protect consumers and remove Monsanto’s MON863 maize from the food supply.”
“Not only is FSANZ approving potentially dangerous products, but our inadequate labelling laws also mean that the majority of GE foods do not require labelling — so consumers have no way of avoiding these products.”